Responding to related news reports, Sri Lanka's official Daily News said Thursday that the Hawaii Center did not give any advance warning of the Dec. 26 tsunami to Sri Lanka.
The newspaper quoted sources of the Foreign Ministry as saying that the Hawaii Center did not issue an advance warning of the impending tsunami to anyone in Sri Lanka.
Barry Hirshoim, the geophysicist on duty at the Hawaii Center, stated very clearly that he and Dr. Stuart Weinstein were on duty on Dec. 26 and the Hawaii Center did not issue warning regarding the tsunami, said the Foreign Ministry in a statement.
The Ministry's attention has been drawn to a box report appearing on the front page of the Sunday Observer on Jan. 23 titled "Tsunami warning: how Foreign Ministry official failed to comprehend message," said the statement.
The ministry wishes to express its disappointment and deep concern at this factually incorrect report published without ascertaining its veracity either from the ministry or from the US Embassy or from the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center in Hawaii.
According to the Foreign Ministry, Hirshoim said that the Hawaii Center itself at the time of the earthquake was not in a position to conclude that the earthquake would generate tsunami waves capable of reaching Sri Lanka as the Center did not have the necessary water gauges and required data for the Indian ocean to make such a determination.
Following the tsunami tragedy, the Foreign Ministry and the US Embassy in Sri Lanka were in constant touch with the Hawaii Center in order to ensure that there would be sufficient warning in case of a follow up tsunami formation due to after shocks or fresh seismic activity.
"The Ministry of Foreign Affairs can only characterize this gross misrepresentation of facts as unfortunate," it said.
(Xinhua News Agency January 27, 2005)
