There was a 9.0 magnitude underwater earthquake in the Indian Ocean that caused this. <{POST_SNAPBACK}> What's 9.0? How strong is that? <{POST_SNAPBACK}> 9.0 is VERY strong. It's out of a 10 scale so try to imagine an earthquake that is almost highest possible. Check the table here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richter_scale <{POST_SNAPBACK}> Dang, so something so great just happened without warnning? <{POST_SNAPBACK}> Yes. One little buoy could of saved hundreds of lives. But knowing the history over there of hurricanes, tropical storms, tsunamis and freak waves, there wasn't any major reason to put one there.