The twin earthquake-tsunami disaster in Indonesia late last week raised new questions about how prepared the global system is to react to future events. Since the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami devastated countries throughout the region, a global system of regional and national centers has sprung up to react to the first tremors along the ocean floor. The response of individual countries now largely relies on a densely interconnected system of seismological data detection centers and high-tech ocean buoys. The regional data analysis and dissemination systems in the Pacific and Indian Oceans, in the Northeast Atlantic, Mediterranean, and Caribbean provide one strong example of international cooperation. “Tsunami forecasting is an excellent example…