Why tsunamis are so difficult to predict

The first 20-foot wave struck just seven minutes after the earthquake. Two more waves arrived in the next eight minutes, devastating Palu, the provincial capital of Sulawesi, Indonesia, on Sept. 28. Some 2,100 lives have been reported lost and more than 270,000 people have been displaced.

In the aftermath of the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami, which claimed 240,000 lives across 14 countries, scientists and officials in Southeast Asia and around the world have