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

Originally posted by picard_is_actually_a_grey
Anyone got a good site that lists the quake instead of showing them on a graphic and is also uptodate as this site is?

But of course!

earthquake.usgs.gov...
www.seismo.ethz.ch...

It keeps going up.

Some are now reporting overall deaths could reach 500 thou.

This is incredible.

I posted a story a while back that the Indoneasian Gov. had given up trying to keep an accurate count and was going with estimates now.

I am also having a hard time with the tourist that have gone back to thier vacations and are sunning themselves and drinking a Mai Tai on beaches that were the scene of so many deaths.

[edit on 12/31/04 by FredT]

Originally posted by dgtempe
Some are now reporting overall deaths could reach 500 thou.

This is incredible.

I think that the missing after another few days are lost at sea. The death toll could very well reach that high if disease outbreaks. Measels is just the tip of the iceberg. Diarheal dissease will kill many because untill you can get potable water, its a vicious cycle even with antibiotics.

More good cheer. MRSA Methicillin Resistant Staff Aureous is already a problem and will get worse as will resistant strains of TB.

Lets not forget the numbers are humans, each with a life lived and an abrupt end, stories untold... and many of the numbers are whole groups including entire families.

I am afraid there will never be an exact number of the dead, as in many places heavy equimpent is being used to quickly gather and dispose of the bodies to help protect the living from further health risks.

In the end the final numbers may be more than we can bare, and even harder to realize or understand.

I broke down watching a report on CNN a while ago, a man who told his story of clinging to a tree, and his surrvival was met with the reality that he had lost his wife and children, most of his family and friends.. his pain was obvious as he broke into crying and asking why.

Sad, very

Originally posted by Banshee

Originally posted by picard_is_actually_a_grey
Anyone got a good site that lists the quake instead of showing them on a graphic and is also uptodate as this site is?

But of course!

earthquake.usgs.gov...
www.seismo.ethz.ch...

Nice work Banshee
Happy new Year to everyone at ATS.
Wonder what surprises our dear old planet has in store for us this year.

Originally posted by FredT
I am also having a hard time with the tourist that have gone back to thier vacations and are sunning themselves and drinking a Mai Tai on beaches that were the scene of so many deaths.

That is the most mind-numbing, bizarre thing I've ever heard about. How can they do this?
But, think about it, who is worse the vacationers going there after the devastation? Or, the destination, that spruced up the beach for the tourists? Are they that aconcerned about the loss of the tourist industry?
Unbelievable...

The islands want to control the PR disaster by portraying images of clean beaches and people having fun. The media is going along with it, but international disaster relief isn't. Teams keep showing up, and thousands of private citizens who showed up were turned away.

The reaction of India is strange, but the pictures coming out of the islands are even stranger. I've seen all of these shots of umbrella sporting tourists sitting on the beaches and sipping drinks. I guess they're smart for not swimming in the shark infested water, thick with bodies, but still.

I wonder if lots of remains will wash up or not. They were taken far out to sea, so it's possible they will all get devoured before making it back. Still, I wouldn't choose the sight of a recent disaster for my vacation spot. Might be a good time to buy a small island though..

After something like that happening in my own country, or any country i was visiting, i wouldn't be celebrating even if they paid me for it. Those people are sick, i don't even know if they are worth of being called humans.

[edit on 31-12-2004 by Muaddib]

ok some good news (I hope):

Nairobi, 30 December 2004 -- As the Asian earthquake and tsunami death toll is now feared to be approaching 100,000 people, emergency humanitarian assistance remains the top priority, but urgent environmental concerns that threaten human health must be addressed, the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) said today.

The Organization decided to create a Task Force in Geneva to coordinate all inputs from the UNEP system to identify and alleviate the environmental impacts of the disaster and to support the efforts of the affected countries and the UN.

UNEP has mobilized $1 million to respond to the immediate needs identified by the region's Governments. "Our support echoes directly the requests from national authorities for environmental experts to assess and mitigate the urgent problems. Therefore, we are sending experts to work with the Governments and the UN country teams", underlined Mr. Klaus Toepfer, Executive Director of UNEP.

The agency has also strengthened its office in Bangkok, which is responsible for activities in the Asia-Pacific region.

"While the focus is to save lives and fight diseases, it is also important to address underlying risks, such as solid and liquid waste, industrial chemicals, sewage treatment and the salinization of drinking water. The damage to ports and industrial infrastructure may be severe, with untold risks to human health. Likewise, revitalizing local communities and their livelihoods will require rehabilitating and protecting vital natural ecosystems, in particular mangrove forests and coral reefs", Mr. Toepfer said.

full story

I hope this one will do its best and not only on paper...

I do see some possibly strange things with weather and world events. Is it cyclic in nature, something else? I think one important thing is the world coming together and uniting as one. Disaster kind of does that. Disaster is bigger than the small sometimes pointless arguments and problems we have with one another. We come together to help one another to fight this bigger force called disaster, or whatever term fits the situation. Suddenly it doesn't matter that Joe or Bill's skin is darker, or we don't speak each others language, it's a spiritual thing, a basic person thing, who is stripped of all these outer things. I mean one day you're cursing your neighbor Bob for his dog pooping on your yard, next week a tornado rips through your town and your pulling Bob out from under his house, to try and save his life. We allready face worldwide problems like pollution, deforestation, dwindling fuel supplies to name a few. Hell, for example, it's a problem that oil companies have an apparent monopoly on fuel, and push worldwide use of hydrogen vehicles and such. I often look at alternative fuels and technology and wonder why the heck we "at least"don't have more vehicles pushing higher gas mileage readings. Progress in this field is much too slow, or should I say it's "being" slowed. If I were the oil companies I would invest in newer, cleaner fuel technologies. It must be the "threat" of losing profits that slows these new fuel technologies from reaching the market. The importance of the allmighty dollar is sickening. The point being, the more we work together as one on this planet, the more likely that we are to conquer the problems that threaten mankind, pollution with fossil fuel consumption being only one of them. The potential disasters besides the deep pocketed oil companies are numerous. We have to cross all kinds of borders to fight for our survival, like racial, religious, and political borders to name a few. And we also cann't let institutions like the greedy oil companies, and anti-survival groups stand in our way.

Seek truth,

Troy

Girl, 10, saved hundreds of lives

A 10-year-old British schoolgirl saved the lives of hundreds of people in southern Asia by warning them a wall of water was about to strike, after learning about tsunamis in geography class, British media reported today.

Tilly, who has been renamed the "angel of the beach" by the top-selling tabloid The Sun, was holidaying with her family on the Thai island of Phuket when she suddenly grasped what was taking place and alerted her mother.

"Last term Mr Kearney taught us about earthquakes and how they can cause tsunamis," Tilly was quoted as saying by The Sun.

"I was on the beach and the water started to go funny. There were bubbles and the tide went out all of a sudden.

"I recognised what was happening and had a feeling there was going to be a tsunami. I told mummy."

Link

Japan pledges up to $642m

JAPAN pledged up to $US500 million ($642 million) in grant aid for tsunami disaster relief today, Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi announced, making the country the largest single donor to victims of the catastrophe.

Koizumi, in a statement, said Japan would extend the aid to affected countries and international organisations.

The prime minister said he would attend an aid conference next week in Jakarta, Indonesia, to "express Japan's determination to extend the maximum possible assistance commensurate with its responsibilities as a fellow Asia partner."

Link

Good on Japan

Originally posted by WyrdeOne


I wonder if lots of remains will wash up or not.

Yes, I believe they will...

GRAPHIC - You are about to see a picture of thousands of dead bodies - don't click if you don't want to see it

[edit on 1-1-2005 by Valhall]

i thought it was just minor casualties but 150,000 estimated dead

Originally posted by Valhall

Originally posted by WyrdeOne


I wonder if lots of remains will wash up or not.

Yes, I believe they will...

GRAPHIC - You are about to see a picture of thousands of dead bodies - don't click if you don't want to see it

[edit on 1-1-2005 by Valhall]

That is definitely one pic worth more than a thousand words. You can only sigh when looking at that pic.

adding to the misery

AfterShocks and Flash Floods

There's no excuse whatsoever for those who are sunning themselves at the scene of the horrible site. So what if they paid good money to be there? Those people are heartless and cruel and have absolutely no respect for humanity- obviously the wrong ones got washed out with the waves. They act as if this was just an inconvenience....

Pack up and go home where you belong, you heartless boobs..

www.worldnetdaily.com...

While the world responds to calls for help in the wake of Asia's tsunami disaster, authorities say looting of victims is now taking place, with some accusations involving a rescue team.

According to the Nation newspaper in Thailand, rescue workers, or people disguised as rescue workers, have been stealing from those who drowned, as well as area shops.

Police in Phuket "have received complaints that a supposed rescue worker stole [$77,000 worth of jewelry] from a safe, while a man spotted another man trying to haul away his four-wheel-drive sports utility vehicle," the paper stated.

These types of events bring out the worst in people as well.