NEWS: 9.0 Quake, Tsunamis Strike SE Asia - 275,000+ Dead

For those wondering about the warnings...

On Sunday 26 December 2004 at 8:14 p.m. EST, within minutes following an alarm signaling a strong earthquake in the Indian Ocean, NOAA�s Tsunami Warning Centers in Hawaii and Alaska issued information bulletins to all ICG/ITSU member states and other Pacific nations indicating that a magnitude 8.0 earthquake (later upgraded to M9.0 by the U. S. Geological Survey) had occurred off the west coast of Northern Sumatra, Indonesia. According to the agreed-upon procedures for the International Tsunami Warning System in the Pacific, this event did not pose a threat to the Pacific. The PTWC (Pacific Tsunami Warning Center), however, continued to monitor the event.

Within a few hours, Vasily Titov, associate director of the Tsunami Inundation Mapping Efforts (TIME) at NOAA�s Pacific Marine Environmental Laboratory in Seattle, Wash. and his counterpart in Japan, Kenji Satake, National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology, produced preliminary estimates of the main features of the event. Tsunami travel time maps were quickly prepared using software developed by Dr. Viacheslav Gusiakov, Institute of Computational Mathematics and Mathematical Geophysics, Novosibirsk, RUSSIA). (see all model outputs and maps on ioc.unesco.org...). Information was posted on the ITSU web site (ioc.unesco.org... ) as from Monday 27 December 2004.

85 percent of all tsunamis occur in the Pacific Ocean, generated in the regions where the main tectonic plates forming the floor of the Pacific collide against themselves or against the continental plates that surround the ocean basin, in an area known as the Ring of Fire. The Mediterranean and Caribbean Seas also have histories of some locally destructive tsunamis. Tsunamis in the Indian Ocean have been rare and far part in time. This might explain why no tsunami warning system has been developed in the Indian Ocean.

The Indian Ocean tsunami is now reported to be one of the strongest in the world for the past 40 years. More than 100,000 lives have been lost and material damage is tremendous.

IOC based on its mandate and experience with ICG/ITSU, will lead an effort to expand the currently existing system in the Pacific to the World Ocean to ensure that appropriate warning systems are available in all regions of the world that are prone to Tsunamis. This decision is fully consistent with the current initiative to build a Global Earth Observation System of Systems. For that purpose immediate consultations will be undertaken with the Officers of ICG/ITSU and representatives of concerned countries. Furthermore, representatives from all Member States of the Commission will be invited to participate in a Special Session during the coming XXIIIrd Assembly of the IOC in July of 2005 to set up and adopt the Policy and Technical bases of such a system at the shortest possible delay.

Dr Patricio Bernal
Executive Secretary IOC

So, let's say that the weather centers got this information. Then what? They had no plan for dissemination of the info. By the time all of this happened, and because there is no plan for the Indian Ocean, it's a while before the right people are contacted. The wave was already on it's way, and coming fast. By the time it hit the news, there was likely little warning for it, and I'm guessing most of those villages don't have a lot of tvs or radios..... The tourist centers are another problem. People are out diving, sunbathing, etc. Even if it comes on the news, they won't be privy to it.

I just received a reply from NPR's Melissa Block
in response to my request for clarification of the Maldive's education minister
interview.


Subject: RE: Melissa Block's interview with Maldive's education minister

I agree, it is baffling - but according to Mr. Shaugee, they've found 64
dead and there are sixty some missing, so they expect the total to be just
over 100 fatalities.

I couldn't quite establish why this is so. However, many, many Maldivian
islands are uninhabited, and my sense is that the capital - Male - which is
where most of the people live, may be on slightly higher ground, and so the
toll wasn't as high as it could have been.

Hope that helps,

Melissa Block



All Things Considered,

We should all be grateful that Melissa took the time to answer my e-mail.

At least there is some relatively good news.

Apparently the Maldive islands because of their low topography escaped most of the killer tsunami.

www.news24.com...

Here's a link to that number of 400,000 dead that another member brought up:
www.bernama.com...


Wouldn't that made the total around 450,000 (+disease, croc attacks, etc)?

Most of the Maldives are inhabited. Maybe not year round, but they probably were that day. I'm wondering what's going on with all those who were down there. I still think the numbers for that island chain are horribly underreported. Maybe it's on purpose to save their tourism industry.

As of the time of this posting--

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Reaching OVER $6.25-Million (US)...

in just 24 hours!!!

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Carpe Diem!

SAS


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� Google Search- tsunami volunteers OR adoption OR donations OR contributions

###

[edit on 30-12-2004 by SecretAss_sassin]

Undeterred by the continued threat of more quakes, tourists head back to the effected beaches:

Source

IT seems almost impossible.

Just days after the tidal wave disaster, one of the devastated beaches was returning to normal yesterday.

On Sunday, Patong Beach was hit by a wall of water that swept into Phuket, claiming at least 120 lives.

Parasols, chairs, and other beach paraphernalia were swept to the top of the tree-lined beach, dragging helpless holidaymakers with them. It was at this beach that six-month-old Melina Heppell, of Perth, disappeared from her father's arms when the huge wave struck.

For some tourists yesterday, however, the tragedy was becoming a memory, albeit a vivid one, as they made the most of the weather and topped up their tans.

[edit on (12/30/0404 by PistolPete]

Originally posted by Valhall
For some reason, the thought of the loss of these ancient people hurts me more than anything else I have heard surrounding this.

I don't why...but it really does. It's like a species going extinct. It's a treasure lost forever - and lost before we really knew the value.

[edit on 12-28-2004 by Valhall]

I've been reading this thread tonight, trying to catch up after a very long week. Val, your statement here got me to thinking and I realized that their value was that we knew nothing about them. Think about it, some of these tribes were able to live unmolested, not bothered by modern conveniences and modern problems. A whole way of life for these people is gone. If you ask me, it's the only way of life (I think sometimes). You're right in that we'll never get to learn about them; but the mystique is what makes their value even greater.

This goes along with the tragic fact that they experienced either total or near total loss of their civilization.

Well A 5.8 in just hit a couple on minutes ago....
Source

While it is common for aftershocks, I'm wondering how 'stable' the region is....

Southern India is also being shaken...
Since The BIG One there has been 83 Aftershocks in the region With the biggest one topping off at 6.2...

6 Quakes have occured in California since.....

The thing I am worried about is How the Cumbre Vieja volcano may be effected by all of this.....

Source



[edit on 30-12-2004 by TrickmastertricK]

Canada increased it's initial aid offering today to $40 million. On top of the federal government's offering the provinces themselves are making their own donations to the Canadian Red Cross. BC alone has pledged $8 million, followed by Ontario which pledged $5 million. The Canadian people have privately donated over $20 million to assorted aid agencies and that number is rapidly increasing. As well 2 plane loads of supplies have gone to the region and the government is in the process of deciding where best to deploy DART (disaster assistance response team) among increasing pressure from the Canadian people.

Not to say the governments shouldn't be contributing a lot more, but I think we need to remember that assistance is coming from a variety of sources as well, not just federal governments.

-raven

Interesting, more detailed report:

www.globalsecurity.org...

TA,

Thanks for the link. It was very informative.

I had been wondering about the Seychelles and had not noticed any word about them. They were included in that link.

SEYCHELLES

Situation

The extreme tidal movements of 26 December caused substantial damage to the coasts of the inner granite islands of the Seychelles archipelago. Severe flooding caused damage to road infrastructure, fishing infrastructure, public utilities, the agricultural sector, schools, housing, reclaimed land and tourism establishments.

Linked to that, on 29 December torrential rains lashed the northern part of the main island of Mahe, devastating homes and roads.

The President of the Republic has appealed for international assistance to complement national efforts in addressing and coping with the calamity. The Government invited the OCHA mission that is in the region to come to the Seychelles as early as possible to evaluate the situation.

It sounds as if they were less impacted than the other island chains.

i found wikipedia to have some pictures of regions in SE Asia showing them before and after the tsunami.

Here is a link.

en.wikipedia.org...:Banda_Aceh_Before_and_After_2004_Tsunami.jpg

Link to large image



[edit on 31-12-2004 by Banshee]

Oops, didn't know the pictures would be that large showing at the forums. Sorry about that.

But looking at that we can see some of the damage that the tsunami caused on many parts in SE Asia.

To find more pictures of the area click on the following link and click in the "Tsunami gallery" link which you will find in the lower middle part at this link.

www.digitalglobe.com...

[edit on 31-12-2004 by Muaddib]

Also, wikipedia has compiled a lot of facts and information on this disaster.

Here is a link to the information.

en.wikipedia.org...

I don"t know if anyone reads poetry here, but here is my contribution for the people who have been torn apart.
Dear God;
Why did this happen? Most of us are poor, and only had shelter, the basic of things, the things we all strive for.
Tell me why did this happen, I know it wasn"t your doing, but remember you parted the sea for Moses, to save him and your people,
so why didn"t you stop the waves from coming, the ones that killed my neighbors, and friends?WHy didn"t you save our people?I know it was not your doing, Dear God,..I don"t blame you.
Dear God, they have no family now, all they had was each other, now they have all died, and gone to be with you in heaven. Why did this happen God? Why to us? What did we do, we know it wasn"t your doing, but remember when you warned Noah of the flood, why didn"t you warn us too?But...Dear God, I don"t blame you.
Dear God, I cannot find my mommy, my daddy is looking all day, he just keeps crying God, can you make his pain go away, tell me God why did this happen? Remember you brought lazarus back from the dead? So, why can"t you do that for my mommy too?But , God,.....please know, I still don"t blame you.
Dear god. I can"t find my parents, I sit here all alone, I have no food or water,and now I have no home. Remember you made food and wine Lord out of fish and water, lord, why are we starving now? I just want to eat and sleep,and find my parents,but God believe me,.. I still don"t blame you.
Dear God, My son, the only one I had, is gone, the water took him from my arms. Remember God, you have a son too.Why didn"t you show pity on him, and save him too from the storm, It hurts so much God,to have to let him go.... but, Dear God, I love you ... I still don"t blame you.
Dear God. I lay here and cry, I am just a small baby, my mommy and daddy are with you, but God I need them more. They were taken from me and I was left on boards washed ashore, remember when you healed the blind man God?Remeber all the miracles you did? I do, but God,even though we didn"t get a miracle, I still......... don"t .....blame....... you.hh...

They had another earthquake a 6.3 in the richert scale. I am not sure these are just aftershocks. Five days later they are still having large earthquakes in that area... BTW, the biggest aftershock was a 7.1... You can find this at one of the links Banshee gave, which I am posting once more below.

neic.usgs.gov...

Im looking to verify this as reported by a local news station...
They said that one providence...(sounded like ahh-che) in i believe indonesia could push the death total to 400,000 by itself.....
thats like a major city size amount of people!!!!

Associated Press is reporting the following information,

-- Indonesia: At least 79,940 people were killed on Sumatra
island, the government said, though the health minister on Friday
said the country's toll could rise to 100,000.
-- Sri Lanka: Some 28,508 killed in government and rebel
controlled areas. About 1 million people were displaced.
-- India: The government said 7,368 deaths have been confirmed,
but a police official said 8,000 more people were missing and
possibly dead in India's remote Andaman and Nicobar Islands, just
north of Sumatra.
-- Thailand: The government said 4,541 people died, including
2,230 foreigners.
-- Somalia: At least 200 killed, said Somali presidential
spokesman Yusuf Mohamed Ismail.
-- Myanmar: About 90 people were killed, according to reports
compiled by international aid agencies.
-- Maldives: At least 69 people confirmed dead.
-- Malaysia: At least 65 people, including an unknown number of
foreign tourists, were dead, according to official reports.
-- Tanzania: At least 10 people killed, said Alfred Tibaigana,
police commander in Dar es Salaam.
-- Bangladesh: Two killed.
-- Kenya: One killed.

Here are some satellite pictures of from the Indian Remote Sensing Agency of the Indian coast and Andaman Islands. Before and after pictures, it goes some way in showing the magnitude if the tsunami.

www.nrsa.gov.in...