Venugopal Thandlam, Anna Rutgersson, Hasibur Rahman

This article focusses on the recent tsunami in Indonesia, and the factors led to a large number of fatalities. We also discussed the failure of early warning systems, steps, methods and technologies, in general, to improve the early warning systems in the future to mitigate the loss of lives and property during these impending disasters. This article is timely as Indonesia has seen one of the worst tsunamis in recent years and the threat is still on. Hence, we stress the importance of improving and strengthening the existing early warning systems.