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SMS Tsunami Hoax in Indonesia

by Evan Shamoon on June 8, 2007 at 08:51 AM

SMS Tsunami Hoax in Indonesia
Spreading rumors of natural disaster ranks pretty high on the list of really, really uncool moves -- especially when those rumors are of a killer wave in Indonesia, an area still reeling from the December 2004 tsunami that killed more than 168,000 people in Indonesia alone.

Such was the case recently when thousands fled their homes along the Indonesian coast after hoax SMS text messages were spread throughout the region warning of an incoming tsunami that didn't exist.

"The possibility is that a tsunami may take place on June 7," read the text message, which was widely distributed in various coastal areas of Indonesia's Nusa Tenggara province, according to the Gulf Times.

Though the regional meteorology and geophysics office has assured people that the warning did not come from them, the last reports out of the area have many residents remaining on higher ground, still afraid to return to their homes.

Since the 2004 tsunami and subsequent disasters, there's been a lot of talk of developing SMS emergency warning systems that would warn the public of impending peril. This hoax proves that people would certainly pay attention to such a system -- unfortunately, it also shows how easily such a system could be copied and used for no good.

From Textually

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