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Asian Tsunami Kills 12,300, Many More Homeless

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  • Asian Tsunami Kills 12,300, Many More Homeless

    Asian Tsunami Kills 12,300, Many More Homeless




    By Simon Gardner

    COLOMBO (Reuters) - More than 12,300 people were killed and tens of thousands left homeless after a powerful undersea earthquake unleashed giant tsunami waves that crashed into the coasts of south and southeast Asia.

    http://us.news1.yimg.com/us.yimg.com..._map_thumb.gif
    Reuters Photo
    http://us.news1.yimg.com/us.yimg.com...b.w122679a.jpg
    Canadian Press http://us.i1.yimg.com/us.yimg.com/i/auctions/cam.gifSlideshow: Indonesia Quake Sparks Fatal Tidal Waves
    http://us.news1.yimg.com/us.yimg.com...-deathtoll.jpg Death Toll Climbs After Tidal Waves Lash 5 Countries
    (Reuters Video)

    The 8.9 magnitude earthquake that struck off the Indonesian island of Sumatra early on Sunday was the biggest in 40 years.It triggered waves that reared up into walls of water as high as 10 meters (30 feet) as they hit coastlines in Indonesia, Sri Lanka, India and Thailand. Aid agencies rushed staff, equipment and money to the region, warning that bodies rotting in the water were already beginning to threaten the water supply for survivors. Rescue workers also spoke of bodies still caught up on trees after being flung inland by the waves. "I just couldn't believe what was happening before my eyes," Boree Carlsson said from a hotel in the Thai resort of Phuket.
    "As I was standing there, a car actually floated into the lobby and overturned because the current was so strong," said the 45-year-old Swede.
    "I heard an eerie sound that I have never heard before. It was a high pitched sound followed by a deafening roar," said a 55-year-old Indian fishermen who gave his name as Chellappa. "I told everyone to run for their life."
    In Indonesia, an archipelago of 17,000 islands, one official said nearly 4,500 people had died. The worst affected area was Banda Aceh, the capital of Aceh province, where 3,000 were killed. More than 200 prisoners escaped from a jail when the tsunami knocked down its walls.
    In Sri Lanka, the death toll also reached 4,500 and 1 million people, or 5 percent of its population, were affected. It was the worst natural disaster to hit Sri Lanka. Hundreds of thousands of Sri Lankans sheltered in schools and temples overnight, and officials expected the death toll to rise further once rescuers resumed searches after daybreak.
    In southern India, where at least 3,000 were estimated to have died, beaches were littered with submerged cars and wrecked boats. Shanties on the coast were under water.
    Thai government officials said at least 392 bodies had been retrieved and they expected the final toll to approach 1,000.
    NO WARNING SYSTEM
    In Los Angeles, the head of the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center said U.S. officials who detected the undersea quake tried frantically to get a warning out about the tsunami.

    But there was no official alert system in the region, said Charles McCreery, director of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's center in Honolulu.

    "It took an hour and a half for the wave to get from the earthquake to Sri Lanka and an hour for it to get ... to the west coast of Thailand and Malaysia," he said. "You can walk inland for 15 minutes to get to a safe area."

    "We tried to do what we could," he said. "We don't have contacts in our address book for anybody in that part of the world."

    The earthquake, of magnitude 8.9 as measured by the U.S. Geological Survey (news - web sites), struck at 7:59 a.m. (1959 EST). It was the world's biggest since 1964, said Julie Martinez at the USGS (news - web sites).

    The tsunami was so powerful it smashed boats and flooded areas along the east African coast, 3,728 miles away.

    In the Maldives, where thousands of foreign visitors were holidaying in the beach paradise, damage appeared to be significantly more limited, according to initial reports.

    Twenty-eight people were estimated to have died in Malaysia and 10 in Myanmar.

    SCALE OF DISASTER NOT YET KNOWN

    Aid agencies said with communications cut to remote areas, it was impossible to assess the full scale of the disaster.

    The Geneva-based International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies said it was seeking 7.5 million Swiss francs ($6.5 million) for emergency aid funding.

    The United States said it would offer "all appropriate assistance," while the European Union (news - web sites) pledged an initial three million euros ($4 million).

    Experts said the top five areas to be addressed were water, sanitation, food, shelter and health.

    "We've had reports already from the south of India of bodies rotting where they have fallen and that will immediately affect the water supply especially for the most impoverished people," Christian Aid emergency officer Dominic Nutt said.

    A tsunami, a Japanese word that translates as "harbor wave," is usually caused by a sudden rise or fall of part of the earth's crust under or near the ocean.

    It is not a single wave, but a series of waves that can travel across the ocean at speeds of more than 500 miles an hour. As the tsunami enters the shallows of coastlines in its path, its velocity slows but its height increases.

    A tsunami that is just a few centimeters or meters high from trough to crest can rear up to heights of 100 to 150 feet as it hits the shore, striking with devastating force.

    Attached Files
    I do not have a psychiatrist and I do not want one, for the simple reason that if he listened to me long enough, he might become disturbed.
    "Life can keep providing the rain and I'll keep providing the parade."
    "I would just like to say that after all these years of heavy drinking, bright lights and late nights, I still don't need glasses. I drink right out of the bottle."
    "Whatever guy said that money don't buy you pleasure didn't know where to go shopping"

  • #2
    14000

    Death Toll is now reported over 14,000 and growing. Truly Sad.
    I do not have a psychiatrist and I do not want one, for the simple reason that if he listened to me long enough, he might become disturbed.
    "Life can keep providing the rain and I'll keep providing the parade."
    "I would just like to say that after all these years of heavy drinking, bright lights and late nights, I still don't need glasses. I drink right out of the bottle."
    "Whatever guy said that money don't buy you pleasure didn't know where to go shopping"

    Comment


    • #3
      I would say it would BEHOOVE them to GET those contacts...what a travesty.
      "Arhat, I am your father..."
      -the Dark Lord Cod

      Comment


      • #4
        Apparently, there are a lot of people missing, including the king's grandson, a famous Thai movie star, and one of my best friends, a divemaster that I scuba dive with. Many people, out of curiosity, actually went into harm's way. Apparently, five minutes before the tsunami hit, the water receded from the beaches for quite a distance. Most people, who have never seen this before (like all of them), found the recession of the waters quite fascinating, so they walked out onto the sea bed for quite a distance. A few minutes later, the tsunami was visible (see attached images), but by then, it was too late for many. There was not enough time to reach high ground; many were swept out to sea.

        Most of the damage hit the Patong area, where the classic little town was (and is currently severely damaged, pictures attached), and the Bang Tao beach area, where my hotel complex is. I've been told that the hotel complex did not undergo that much damage, contrary to initial reports of its "total destruction". I've spoke to some Thai friends who tell me that as time goes on, more and more people are being reported as "missing".

        Phi Phi island, supposedly, got absolutely destroyed. The Amanpuri hotel, a thousand dollar a night place that I like to hang out in (pictures in the Photo Library), lost twenty guests and staff. And that hotel is up high. I can't imagine what happened to some of the other hotels that are "on the beach". I just haven't heard. We're having trouble getting telephone contact with our friends, so it's difficult to find out exactly what's going on. I do know that a restaurant that I go to, on the beach, just "disappeared".

        One of my boats, is "full of water". I'm not quite sure what that means, lol, as in "wet", or, "under". I guess I'll find out in three weeks. My future home property is on a mountain top, at sixty to eighty meters elevation, so I don't think that was impacted.

        What this will do to tourism is anybody's guess. I think that over the next couple of days, there are going to be a lot of bodies floating up on the shores. It's not going to be pretty. I fear that the news will get worse as time goes on.
        Attached Files
        Experienced Community organizer. Yeah, let's choose him to run the free world. It will be historic. What could possibly go wrong...

        "You're just a jaded cynical mother****er...." Jeffpeg

        (more comments in my User Profile)
        russbo.com


        Comment


        • #5
          MOre pictures. The king's grandson (and bodyguard) were found drowned. He was jet skiing off of Phuket when the tsunami hit.
          Attached Files
          Experienced Community organizer. Yeah, let's choose him to run the free world. It will be historic. What could possibly go wrong...

          "You're just a jaded cynical mother****er...." Jeffpeg

          (more comments in my User Profile)
          russbo.com


          Comment


          • #6
            More pictures of Phuket
            Attached Files
            Experienced Community organizer. Yeah, let's choose him to run the free world. It will be historic. What could possibly go wrong...

            "You're just a jaded cynical mother****er...." Jeffpeg

            (more comments in my User Profile)
            russbo.com


            Comment


            • #7
              More Pictures...

              I found these pictures too..
              Attached Files
              I do not have a psychiatrist and I do not want one, for the simple reason that if he listened to me long enough, he might become disturbed.
              "Life can keep providing the rain and I'll keep providing the parade."
              "I would just like to say that after all these years of heavy drinking, bright lights and late nights, I still don't need glasses. I drink right out of the bottle."
              "Whatever guy said that money don't buy you pleasure didn't know where to go shopping"

              Comment


              • #8
                Pictures of Phuket in Photo Library.

                Are these pictures of yours the same street as above??
                There are alot more pictures of Thailand in the Photo Library, if anyone wants to see.
                Amazing to see the Before and After.
                Attached Files
                I do not have a psychiatrist and I do not want one, for the simple reason that if he listened to me long enough, he might become disturbed.
                "Life can keep providing the rain and I'll keep providing the parade."
                "I would just like to say that after all these years of heavy drinking, bright lights and late nights, I still don't need glasses. I drink right out of the bottle."
                "Whatever guy said that money don't buy you pleasure didn't know where to go shopping"

                Comment


                • #9
                  simply mind-boggling... Sri Lanka was smothered..

                  They're reported estimate is of around eleven thousand five hundred dead victims..


                  g
                  ZhongwenMovies.com

                  Comment


                  • #10
                    Here you have the biggest earthquake in decades... I'm I an idiot or aren't there warnings for these types of events. I mean waves with such power don't just crash into places at a moment's notice, do they? What's the situation with notifications, alerts, etc?

                    "The power of this earthquake, and its huge geographical reach, are just staggering," said Carol Bellamy, executive director of UN Children's Fund (UNICEF)"

                    Well?
                    ZhongwenMovies.com

                    Comment


                    • #11
                      Japan and the US have early warning systems. Japan's has been very well implemented across their country, because they lie in a very unstable, "underwater volcano/earthquake" ring zone. Earthquakes are quite common there. Thailand rarely, if ever, has such activity. Indonesia does, but if you look at their technological advancements, to put it simply, having a warning system of this kind is just not "on the list". Hell, most people don't even have telephone service to their houses.

                      I would suspect that things are going to change, very rapidly, in Thailand. It's a very progressive country, one which is really concerned about their tourists and people. Indonesia is another matter.

                      And, I finally heard from my diving buddy. He was on a boat, out in the ocean, diving the Similian islands when this occurred.
                      Experienced Community organizer. Yeah, let's choose him to run the free world. It will be historic. What could possibly go wrong...

                      "You're just a jaded cynical mother****er...." Jeffpeg

                      (more comments in my User Profile)
                      russbo.com


                      Comment


                      • #12
                        Good to hear your friend is OK Doc. That was crazy. One of the main USGS offices is here in Golden, they've been all over the news talking about the advance warning stuff... It is truely too bad that in so many places, they have nothing even close to this.
                        practice wu de

                        Comment


                        • #13
                          Yes, there are warning systems...Sea buoys with wave sensors and stuff like that...but many of these countries didn't participate in the project.
                          Mike Evans
                          Medford, NY

                          Comment


                          • #14
                            Originally posted by onesp1ng
                            simply mind-boggling... Sri Lanka was smothered..

                            They're reported estimate is of around eleven thousand five hundred dead victims..


                            g
                            Sadly, the count is now at 23,000.
                            I do not have a psychiatrist and I do not want one, for the simple reason that if he listened to me long enough, he might become disturbed.
                            "Life can keep providing the rain and I'll keep providing the parade."
                            "I would just like to say that after all these years of heavy drinking, bright lights and late nights, I still don't need glasses. I drink right out of the bottle."
                            "Whatever guy said that money don't buy you pleasure didn't know where to go shopping"

                            Comment


                            • #15
                              That is nuts...

                              23 THOUSAND!

                              wow, that is a small city.
                              practice wu de

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