Quake: the half-hearted warning
Last updated at 10:22 29 December 2004
Weather forecasters in Thailand may have delayed sounding a tidal wave warning for fear it could damage tourism, it was admitted last night.
The country's meteorological department did issue warnings of the impending wave, but broadcasts beamed to tourist resorts in the south underestimated the threat.
A corresponding website alert was not posted until three hours after the first deluge hit southern resorts.
As the Thai government announced an inquiry, Sulamee Prachuab, who heads the department's seismological bureau, said the agency had acted with caution because issuing such a warning could have severe economic effects on the lucrative tourist industry.
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