Germany’s Early Warning System: Waiting for the Next Tsunami

German scientists have designed a tsunami early warning system for the Indian Ocean. The project aims to protect Indonesians by giving them enough time to escape the danger. The ultimate goal is speed.

Nils Goseberg is very worried about the Siti Nurbaya Bridge in Padang. The 80-meter (262-foot) bridge spans the Arau River and anyone fleeing a tsunami would most likely need to cross it.

Goseberg, who works at the Franzius Institute of Hydraulics, Waterways and Coastal Engineering in the northern German city of Hanover, faces a problem that seems borderline absurd: How to evacuate Padang, a city of 800,000 people, in just 20 minutes? … More