Honolulu — The devastating tidal wave that the oceanographers predicted for Hawaii never materialized. And by Sunday, authorities have lifted the warning after waves half the predicted size tickled the shores of Hawaii and tourists once again jammed beaches and restaurants.
However, scientists who gave the warning believed they need not apologize for the inacurate information that caused great alarm.
Scientists acknowledge that they overstated the threat but defended their actions, saying they took the proper steps and learned the lessons of the 2004 Indonesian tsunami that killed thousands of people who didn’t get enough warning.
“It’s a key point to remember that we cannot end the warnings. Failure to warn is not an option for us,” said Dai Lin Wang, an oceanographer at the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center in Hawaii.
“We cannot have a situation that we thought was no problem and then it’s devastating. That just cannot happen,” Wang added.
Many residents and tourists in Hawaii though were not bothered by the warnings. They believed that the scientists “did the right thing”.