another possibility is that the tsunami was created waves .
after a 2004 tsunami killed 230,000 people in a dozen countries , more than half of them in the indonesian province of aceh , a concerted international effort was launched to improve tsunami warning capabilities , particularly in the indian ocean and for indonesia , one of world 's most earthquake and tsunami - prone countries .
( ap photo tatan syuflana , file ) ( associated press ) makassar , indonesia ( ap ) — an early warning system that might have prevented some deaths in the tsunami that hit an indonesian island on friday has been stalled in the testing phase for years .
to me this is a tragedy for science , even more so a tragedy for the indonesian people as the residents of sulawesi are discovering right now , " said louise comfort , a university of pittsburgh expert in disaster management who has led the u.s. side of the project , which also involves engineers from the woods hole oceanographic institute and indonesian scientists and disaster experts . "
but under certain circumstances it can , dr. patton said .
in this sunday , sept. 30 , 2018 , file photo , a damaged shopping mall sits in flood water following earthquakes and a tsunami in palu , central sulawesi , indonesia .
the high - tech system of seafloor sensors , data - laden sound waves and fiber - optic cable was meant to replace a system set up after an earthquake and tsunami killed nearly 250,000 people in the region in 2004 .
dr. patton said a combination of factors may have contributed to the tsunami .
but inter - agency wrangling and delays in getting just 1 billion rupiah ( $ 69,000 ) to complete the project mean the system has n't moved beyond a prototype developed with $ 3 million from the u.s. national science foundation .