SE Asia Earthquake/Tsunami

[Filuwaúrdjan]

114,000 and rising (80,000 in Aceh).

Oh and guess what? A volcano in the Andaman islands (est. 10,000 killed by Tsunami) has just started to erupt...

[minionofmidas]

114,000 and rising (80,000 in Aceh).

Oh and guess what? A volcano in the Andaman islands (est. 10,000 killed by Tsunami) has just started to erupt...

I knew quite a few people in Bangalore who had family in the Andamans...
Also quite a few travellers who had gone there or intended to (not that any of these would still be there now)...
They wee seen by many middle-class SOuth Indians as something of the Next Big Thing in Asian mass tourism. Wonder what's going to happen to those dreams...
While the Nicobars were apparently truly wild country...with that one island there, Sentinel, that has never established relations with the British or the Indian authorities...

[??????????]

114,000 and rising (80,000 in Aceh).

Oh and guess what? A volcano in the Andaman islands (est. 10,000 killed by Tsunami) has just started to erupt...

This has already been predicted almost 2,000 years ago.

[WMS]

A tidbit from Stratfor's Situation Reports:

"December 30, 2004

1830 GMT - The death toll in the Indonesian region of Aceh may hit 400,000, as several areas hit by a tsunami have not been reached yet, Indonesian Ambassador to Malaysia Dr. H. Rusdihardjo said Dec. 30. The estimate was based on air surveillance of the area that indicated several islands -- including Meulaboh, population 150,000, and Pulau Simeuleu, population 76,000 -- exhibited no signs of life, and that some islands near Sumatra were completely gone."

It's only going to get worse...

[??????????]

This is almost as bad as Krakatowa <sp?>.

[WMS]

This is almost as bad as Krakatowa <sp?>.

Working its way there...

[WMS]

Please consider donating a bit of money to a relief organization of your choice to help in the recovery and reconstruction efforts for this disaster.  I wasn't able to give much, but I chose to donate to Catholic Relief Services, which has given $500,000 already toward immediate care. 

A list of organizations taking donations can be found here:

http://www.cnn.com/2004/WORLD/asiapcf/12/27/quake.aidsites/index.html

Please help out in any way you can.  Individually we can't give much, but together maybe we can make a difference.

I donated $25 folks, and if we all did that, it would really help.

[Platypus]

A UN spokesman just reported that in one Indonesian provience, he expects a death toll of 100,000.

It was also reported up 5,000 Australians working/vacationing in the region are missing.

I'm guessing that initial deaths will be in excess of 250,000.

1000 Australians are still in the 'concerned' catergory, although another couple of thousand are unheard from, but believed to be safe due to their location.

If people don't help out in any way they can, 250,000 would be easily possible. we all need to do anything we can-donate money, volunteer to answer phones, or if you are trained and can, head over thre, etc.

It's big, and at times like this the world needs to come together. It is often said that the only time the earth will unify is when we get attacked by aliens. This is the next closest thing; lets see how close we get at least for a few days.

[Platypus]

HuckFinn-U just read about a family of fourteen from Finland all being killed-how tragic. my sympathies are with the finnish people

[David S]

Please consider donating a bit of money to a relief organization of your choice to help in the recovery and reconstruction efforts for this disaster.  I wasn't able to give much, but I chose to donate to Catholic Relief Services, which has given $500,000 already toward immediate care. 

A list of organizations taking donations can be found here:

http://www.cnn.com/2004/WORLD/asiapcf/12/27/quake.aidsites/index.html

Please help out in any way you can.  Individually we can't give much, but together maybe we can make a difference.

I donated $25 folks, and if we all did that, it would really help.

I agree with you completely, and if only 10% of Americans gave as much as you did it would add up to 3/4 of a billion dollars. That's  alot of money!

[J. J.]

If people don't help out in any way they can, 250,000 would be easily possible. we all need to do anything we can-donate money, volunteer to answer phones, or if you are trained and can, head over thre, etc.

I'm talking about those already gone.

[Platypus]

I'd say already dead is probably closer to 150,000 at this stage, but in a few hours, it could be 160,000, etc...

[J. J.]

I'd say already dead is probably closer to 150,000 at this stage, but in a few hours, it could be 160,000, etc...

I'm talking about the currently dead, but uncounted.  I expect that about 250,000 were killed in the wave or within a few hours after.

[The Duke]

An earthquake with a magnitude of 8.9 has struck the coast of Indonesia, creating the inevitable Tsunamis ("tidal waves") which have struck the coasts of Sri Lanka, Thailand, the Maldives... well most of SE Asia actually.

At least 500 people have been killed (and that number will probably rise pretty sharply) and huge numbers of people have been made homeless.

Here's the post that started this thread.  Who knew at the time that this was actually an optimistic way to put it.

I'm giving the $600 I saved on auto insurance for getting a 3.0 or better grade point average.

[Filuwaúrdjan]

Here's the post that started this thread.  Who knew at the time that this was actually an optimistic way to put it.

I didn't :-(

[2952-0-0]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2004_Indian_Ocean_earthquake

Great site, and it has disturbing pictures and stats.

[Gabu]

134,000 now.

Man.  6,000 more and it'll be the fifth worst death toll from an earthquake in history.

[2952-0-0]

Banda Aceh, Indonesia

[Platypus]

sh**t.

I've said it before, and I'll say it again. My mum is going into Sumatra or Srui Lanka within a few days, and I ask you all for support. Seeing just what has happenned to the area in such a stark way as Gabu just presented makes me horrified for the people and scared for my mother, but with the well wishes of everyone here for her and for the thousands of australian, german, Japanese and american volunteers, as well as those from all over the world.

[Huckleberry Finn]

Seems that also thousands of Americans are missing.

CNN) -- The U.S. State Department is working to find thousands of Americans who are still missing after powerful tsunamis struck countries bordering the Indian Ocean.

http://www.cnn.com/2004/US/12/30/tsunami.americans/index.htm

Other numbers of missing citizens.

Sweden about 3500 (!)
Australia about 1000
Germany about 1000
Norway over 400
Finland over 200
Denmark over 200
Czech Republic about 200
Hundreds of British

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/asia-pacific/4136871.stm

Western casualties have been in news several days in Finland and Sweden, but it seems that rest of the world is just awakening. UK has just started evacuation flights for its citizens, Finland has done them in several days now.

[Platypus]

IIRC, Finland forced their citizens out, right? Even the couple who were looking for their 14 missing relatives. Practical, yes, but a bit mean

[Huckleberry Finn]

IIRC, Finland forced their citizens out, right? Even the couple who were looking for their 14 missing relatives. Practical, yes, but a bit mean

Forced out? HELL NO! I really take this offensive. Finland evacuated its citizens. All who wanted to stay, were allowed, of course. We have also sent rescue workers etc to help our citizens. WHAT HELL YOU THOUGHT?

I wonder what Australia is doing?

[Platypus]

Donating $35 million in aid, with multiple helicopters and cargo planes lent to provide aid, and scores of aid teams focussing on Sri Lanka, Phuket/Phi Phi, and Sumatra.

I read in the newspaper that the evacuation was forced. There was a finnish couple quoted in the paper as saying that even though they lost 14 members of their family, they werren't being allowed to stsy. I presume they were wrong rather then you of course, because they were there whilst you were in Finland with biased media reports. (Just like ours are biased).

Either way, this is nothing to fight about.

[Huckleberry Finn]

I read in the newspaper that the evacuation was forced. There was a finnish couple quoted in the paper as saying that even though they lost 14 members of their family, they werren't being allowed to stsy. I presume they were wrong rather then you of course, because they were there whilst you were in Finland with biased media reports. (Just like ours are biased).

It was obviously the misunderstanding. There are Finnish tourists left in Eastern Thailand who have continued their "holiday". I think it's clear that a democratic country can't force its citizens to leave from a foreign country.

[??????????]

I don't really want to disgust anyone. But www.ogrish.com has pictures of it. It's really disturbing and not for the faint of heart. So I caution you when you go to it.