They have minutes to issue tsunami warning

When an earthquake threatens to turn part of an ocean into a fast-moving wall of water, tsunami warning scientists can do nothing for the first few minutes except wait for information. Then, they have to quickly decide whether to issue a warning. "If the effect of your decision is going to evacuate the entire West Coast waterfront, you don't want to take that lightly," said Paul Whitmore, director of the West Coast and Alaska Tsunami Warning Center.

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