The problem is that the proper response to a tornado is very different than that of a tsunami. In the case of a tornado, everyone moves to an interior room of a

The problem is that the proper response to a tornado is very different than that of a tsunami. In the case of a tornado, everyone moves to an interior room of a well built structure. A tornado warning means keep on an eye on the sky. In the case of a tsunami, thousands of people may need to evacuate many miles away. Expected landfall of any tsunami was something like 20 minutes after this earthquake so they can't exactly wait until confirmation to get people moving.