Earlier this week, Coordinating Minister for People's Welfare Aburizal Bakrie told local media the national tsunami warning center will cover vulnerable coasts on the main islands of Java, Sumatra, Sulawesi and Papua.

    "Early warning system has been installed in some parts of Sumatra and Javanese coasts will be equipped later. We hope the system will be completed within three years," said Bakrie.

    Indonesia last year installed two early-warning buoys in Sumatra waters in a joint project with the German government.

    The Deep Ocean Assessment and Reporting (DART) buoys contain scientific instruments and are connected to pressure sensor on the sea bed to relay information of undersea earthquake and impending tsunami via satellite to the tsunami centers on mainland.

    The buoys, located a few thousand kilometers from the quake center near Java on July 17, failed to detect the subsequent tsunami.

    Installing a detection system is one thing, while providing a reliable communication system is another, perhaps the most difficult thing in the huge archipelago.

    Indonesian coasts have no basic communication system of sirens to warn people in danger areas in time and that explains why the activation of the Indian Ocean tsunami system and the existence of two buoys are completely useless.

    Tsunami survivors in Ciamis regency, West Java province, have made it clear the only reason for them to run away is the roar of the approaching waves. Meanwhile, government officials have denied reports that they received prior warnings from other countries.

    The major shortcomings in Indonesia's tsunami system include how to contact appropriate emergency officials when the detection system sends a "red light" and how to alert potential tsunami targets in time.

    The infrastructure problem will require advanced technology and huge funds to solve, another headache for the cash-strapped government.