The Sumatra tsunami - why wasn't Indonesia ready?

When President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono visited the tsunami site he questioned why people had been living in low-lying areas, though they've been there for generations. Planning regulations could have prohibited surfline settlement - but rules are easy to by-pass.

After the 2004 tsunami aid from Germany was used to install early warning systems. Sadly many have been dismantled for their saleable parts by fishermen, or have fallen into disrepair.

This has been known for some time, but never fixed.

The early reports of the tsunami came from Westerners working with Surfaid - an international NGO established by Kiwi Dr Dave Jenkins. Back in 1999 he'd been working in Singapore and took a trip to the Mentawai for a surfing holiday.

He was shocked at the contrast between life on his luxury yacht and the sick and poor villagers who were suffering and dying from preventable diseases, like malaria.

He decided to do something and in the past 11 years has helped raise millions to help improve the health of the islanders. The Indonesian government has now appointed Surfaid as the lead NGO handling the emergency

I've just come back from Nias Island, just to the north of the Mentawai where I've seen the results of the 2004 tsunami and the 2005 earthquake.

After these events the government, supported by aid from overseas, worked to rehabilitate the island. The bill was US$ 1 billion.

The repairs have been piecemeal. The main north-south road is in good condition but the roads inland are like NZ's rocky riverbeds, and almost impassable.

An ambulance I was travelling in as a passenger, not a patient, was unable to reach homes on the outskirts of Gunungsitoli - the provincial capital that sits on the coast and is vulnerable to any tsunami.

Many homes have still not been repaired, though the administration has built a splendid set of offices on a hill, safe from big waves.

In the meantime money from overseas is being used to teach the public - particularly children - about ways they can prepare for natural disasters and what they should do when the earth shakes and the tides rush in.