[Kurt_D]

Not really.... many years ago, let's say 100, Tsunamis and earthquakes would kill thousands in Japan. Nowadays similar catastrophes hardly kill anybody. Same rules apply for hurricanes in the USA. Remember the Hurrican that destroyed Galveston roughly 100 years ago? Currently stronger hurricanes hardly kill a dozen people.

[Texasforever]

The reality is that we still have countries that are, by choice, living in the 7th century and are at the mercy of the elements. They have resources and they have been supplied with literally trillions of dollars in aid over the last century and they still refuse to use that aid, natural resources and large labor pools to come out of their primitive lifestyles. That is their right and I have no problem with their choice I do have a problem with propping up their "culture" that allows them to have their cake while eating it. I am tired of this country extending a hand to help and having it bitten again and again.

[wimpycat]

Yeah, it's because we have radar now. And Japan has built buildings that are more resistant to earthquakes and they have an early warning system because they have a lot of tidal waves. We get a lot of hurricanes and Japan gets a lot of earthquakes and tsunamis, so it pays to invest in early warning systems.

The last tsunami of any significance to affect the Indian Ocean was when Krakatoa exploded, and that was, what? Late 19th century? They simply don't have big tsunamis in the Indian Ocean all that often. It has nothing to do with being civilized, and everything to do with cost outweighing risks. It would be like England investing in a big tornado early warning system. It's not unheard of, but tornadoes simply aren't very common in England, so an early warning system is not a wise use of resources.