Vidale says a priority for earthquake researchers will be discovering whether Japan's sophisticated warning system helped mitigate the damage.
One of the reasons for the high death toll was a lack of an early warning system in that area; the Pacific Ocean area has a sophisticated early warning system centered in Hawaii.
Meanwhile investigative work continues.' There had been speculation after the Southall crash - in which the train's advanced warning system failed - that a new, sophisticated safety device, the advanced train protection, was being tested.
But the relief effort also raises questions, not least what comes next and why the sophisticated early warning systems failed to spur timely action.
It also revealed the inability of the most sophisticated early warning systems in the world to stop a low-tech, tried-and-true form of terrorism: hijacking.
The Norwegian units have great mobility, and, because of Norway's important strategic location as NATO's northern flank with a myriad of fjords to serve as naval bases for fleets in the North Atlantic, Norway has sophisticated early-warning systems.
Preparations in the region include sophisticated "early warning" systems involving thousands of medical professionals searching for patterns of infections and the production of television announcements on where to go for smallpox vaccinations.
Sub-regional financial structures are developing as well: ASEAN has created a surveillance mechanism to try to anticipate and head off future crises, using sophisticated early-warning indicators, and the North-East Asian countries are jointly keeping an eye on short-term capital movements in the vicinity.
However, more sophisticated automated early warnings systems could potentially give better predictive power.
These large radars are more sophisticated than the warning radars because they must form accurate tracks for the engagement radars.
