Hi All. Getting a tsunami warning system for the Indian Ocean area is not going to be easy. It seems the ever-present politics are getting in the way. Take Care…Don in creepy town

On holiday with her family, Tilly Smith, 10, remembered what she had learned back at school in southeastern England. She recognized the water's weird foaming and swirling as a precursor to a tsunami. Smith screamed at her parents to get off the beach. After a moment's hesitation, they did. About a dozen other tourists fled with them to higher ground. Minute’s later, 15-foot waves lashed the Thai coastline.

At least a few lives were spared from the tsunami that killed 172,000 people in 11 countries the day after Christmas.

Thailand and other nations that border the Indian Ocean know they need more than quick-thinking fifth-graders to guard against a repeat of the tragedy Dec. 26. They are determined to build a tsunami warning system in the Indian Ocean similar to one that has been operating in the Pacific since 1948.

The trouble is, countries in the region are offering different and sometimes competing proposals. The debate over which countries will play a lead role has proved rancorous. "Politics are getting into it," complains Smith Thammasaroj, who is overseeing Thailand's tsunami-protection plans. "A big amount of money is involved."

• Tsunami Warning System