I think it's a given that better warning systems are needed. We're actually extending our system in the Pacific after the latest tsunamis, and hopefully they emulate our Hawaii-based Pacific early warning center in the Indian ocean as well.
I actually saw a story a few years ago about the company that are designing these survival capsules, which, IMO, is a lot more interesting than someone pulling a stunt like this. We actually have a very tsunami-vulnerable coastline in many US states ourselves, of course, and it's difficult to know exactly how to protect people who don't have immediate access to higher ground. If the tsunami is generated by a subduction zone earthquake close to the coast, you may only have fifteen or twenty minutes warning before it hits. "Just get out of the path" is not always possible when the nearest high ground is miles away.
Unfortunately, the cost of these devices is so high ($12K to $20K each for the prototypes), and when compared to the likelihood of needing them versus the population density of the typical tsunami-prone coastline, it's unlikely that large populations would ever be completely protected by these things. It would be great if these could be mass produced cheaply, bringing the price down where they could be affordable. Unfortunately, for the Indian Ocean regions, you're talking about a population that, on average, doesn't exactly have a lot of discretionary income. Still, very few people have come forward with better solutions, aside from better early warning systems and public education (i.e. when the surf disappears, RUN!).
Japan is now talking about a seawall that will reportedly cost 7 billion dollars. For that price, they could afford to protect about 1.4 million people with these safety capsules, assuming the cost is around $5000 per person. Of course, the downside is that these capsules would do nothing to protect against massive property damage.