Tsunami Victims Begin Their Lawsuits

You just knew this would happen eventually.

A group of Austrian and German victims of the Asian tsunami disaster are to file a lawsuit demanding that Thailand, French hotel chain Accor and US forecasters prove they reacted adequately to the disaster, their lawyers said.

The suit, naming Accor and the US-run tsunami early warning system in the Pacific as well as Thai authorities, will be filed in a New York district court this week, the lawyers said in Vienna.

http://uk.biz.yahoo.com/050215/323/fcing.html

The article goes on to say says:

The targets are the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) in Washington and its Hawaii-based tsunami warning centre; the Accor group of hotels where some of the victims stayed; and the Thai government.

The NOAA is accused of having registered the earthquake but failed to alert Indian Ocean countries of the impending tsunamis as the Hawaii centre covered only the Pacific.

The lawyers said that if the NOAA and Thai authorities, which had their own information, had passed on their alerts in time, it would have enabled people on shorelines to flee inland.

OK, so here's my question. The NOAA is an agency of the US government. Is the NOAA legally bound to tell anyone, other than the US, anything at all?

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) conducts research and gathers data about the global oceans, atmosphere, space and sun, and applies this knowledge to science and service that touch the lives of all Americans.

In a July 1970 statement to Congress, President Nixon proposed creating NOAA to serve a national need "...for better protection of life and property from natural hazards...for a better understanding of the total environment...[and] for exploration and development leading to the intelligent use of our marine resources..." On October 3, NOAA was established under the Department of Commerce.

Where in any of this does it say anything about the obligation of a US agency to tell another country anything? I don't care if all the US forecasters spent the entire day surfing for porn - how did they fail to alert Indian Ocean countries when that's not their job? That would be like holding me responsible for you having a car wreck because I didn't tell you that the roads were slippery today.

From The "Even A Stopped Clock Is Right Twice A Day" File:

Even if NOAA had warned the governments of the Southeast Asia countries, there would've been very little, if anything, those governments would've been able to do regarding evacuations.

Wait a sec. Did Shamalama and I just agree on something???

I need to lie down ...

Did you think the legal ruination of humanity was was exclusive to the US? I wonder how many victims were contacted by the legal industry... yes I meant industry! Why is there supposed to be a monetary gain from any hardship?

Because no matter what happens, it's GOT to be somebody's fault. Never a simple accident, act of God, or our own short sightedness. Besides, there's no "percentage" on acts of God.

That's where the ambulance-chaser lawers come in. In this class-action lawsuit each victim would probably get $38 while the legal teams would share the $100 million.

Oh, and Brother MDF3530, I've just emailed you a bottle of The Glenlivet to ease your pain.

Uh... can I have the Glenlivet? Pleeeeeease?

Precisely why I will never vote for any lawyer running for public office.

At least not any personal injury lawyers, ever (and yes, I'm from NC, home of former [thank God] Senator Edwar...my keyboard won't even let me type it).