Massive earthquake hits Sumatra

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Ground wells got polluted with salt water, and they're worried about diahrea and cholera taking a lot of people in the coming weeks. And sanitation problems are already cropping up. Like I said in the other thread, the full scope of this calamity has not sunk in yet. PEACE.
 
doncale said:
CNN.com



if CNN.com posts that the death toll could top 60,000 then 100,000 is entirely possible.


holy shit this is almost unbelivable. but then, not really, considering the devastating power of nature

:(
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100,000 is a huge number, but there are potential disasters that could cause even more deaths. CNN last night (or early this morning) went over some of them to put it into perspective how things could be even worse (even has bad as they are now). If the volcano in Yellowstone goes, it could kill a third of US. If the Canary Islands volcano finishes its slide into the ocean (something that is constantly happening) it would wipe out the entire Eastern seaboard, the Florida keys, and most of the Caribbean.
 
ManaByte said:
100,000 is a huge number, but there are potential disasters that could cause even more deaths. CNN last night (or early this morning) went over some of them to put it into perspective how things could be even worse (even has bad as they are now). If the volcano in Yellowstone goes, it could kill a third of US. If the Canary Islands volcano finishes its slide into the ocean (something that is constantly happening) it would wipe out the entire Eastern seaboard, the Florida keys, and most of the Caribbean.
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The thing is the US and Pacific do have warning systems thus to a limited extent some lives would be able to be saved. The Indian ocean had no warning. CNN is arguing a hypothesis with a real event . Personally I hate shit like that. US stations always trying to relate it back to the US.
Same shit happens here 40,000+ estimated dead but (more importantly) 6 Australians died.
 
Fresh Prince said:
The thing is the US and Pacific do have warning systems thus to a limited extent some lives would be able to be saved. The Indian ocean had no warning. CNN is arguing a hypothesis with a real event . Personally I hate shit like that. US stations always trying to relate it back to the US.
Same shit happens here 40,000+ estimated dead but (more importantly) 6 Australians died.
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True, but there are some things no warning can prepare you for. Even if they had 30 minutes warning (at best) for the quake that still wouldn't have been enough time to evacuate enough people from the Tsunami areas. The same thing would be true with those two volcanos. Disasters such as this are just so large that a little bit of warning still isn't enough.
 
ManaByte said:
True, but there are some things no warning can prepare you for. Even if they had 30 minutes warning (at best) for the quake that still wouldn't have been enough time to evacuate enough people from the Tsunami areas. The same thing would be true with those two volcanos. Disasters such as this are just so large that a little bit of warning still isn't enough.
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I was looking at the map of the canary islands and couldn't imagine how it would "slide" into the ocean. If it did, though -- that would be an incredibly huge 150+ft wave that would obliterate the east Coast. A 3,000 foot dome of water caused by the landslide would be a devistatingly awe inducing sight to see, that is, just before you'd be engulfed by such a horrendous beast.
 
3pheMeraLmiX said:
I was looking at the map of the canary islands and couldn't imagine how it would "slide" into the ocean. If it did, though -- that would be an incredibly huge 150+ft wave that would obliterate the east Coast. A 3,000 foot dome of water caused by the landslide would be a devistatingly awe inducing sight to see, that is, just before you'd be engulfed by such a horrendous beast.
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There's a volcano there where half of it is slowly sliding into the ocean. It'll eventually slide into the ocean on its own thanks to gavity, but if there is ever an eruption it'll do it instantly. If you look at video of Mt. St. Helens erupting, that's what it'd look like but all of that earth will be going into the ocean.
 
ManaByte said:
100,000 is a huge number, but there are potential disasters that could cause even more deaths. CNN last night (or early this morning) went over some of them to put it into perspective how things could be even worse (even has bad as they are now). If the volcano in Yellowstone goes, it could kill a third of US. If the Canary Islands volcano finishes its slide into the ocean (something that is constantly happening) it would wipe out the entire Eastern seaboard, the Florida keys, and most of the Caribbean.
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=/
 
I had a nightmare last night. I was on a bus with some people on it, and it started to get dark. Because a solid wall of water 200+ feet tall (I mean, perfectly flat and vertical) was coming right at us. The visual scope of this thing was so fricken real, I was scared shitless, and woke up in an instant.

Now a real life tsunami won't have that flat surface to it, but at that height and speed, it would be truly frightening...

60,000+ Dead...dear god.
 
Suranga3 said:
I hope miyuru is Okay. He and his family went to Sri Lanka to visit relatives a week ago for the holiday season.
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Oh my God! I REALLY hope he and his family are okay, he's such a sweetheart and one of my favorite GAF posters...

Dammit :(
 
Wasn't Miyuru the one that posted pictures of his wedding?

Either way, hope he and his family are alright :/
 
Lonestar said:
Wasn't Miyuru the one that posted pictures of his wedding?
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No, I think that was Kabuki Waq.

Either way, hope he and his family are alright :/
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Same.

Turns out my friend is alright. I was told that he was "alive but trapped". Of course, that meant "trapped in the country" and not "trapped in a building" as I had presumed like the knob that I am.

Still, disease remains a problem. :(
 
Not quite sure if posted yet

The following article appeared in the Thai daily The Nation under Pravit Rojanaphruk’s byline Dec. 28 and acquired by a RAW STORY correspondent. The article was referenced in the Washington Post and the Swedish newspaper Expressen.

Minutes after the earthquake hit northern Sumatra at 7:58am on Sunday, officials of the meteorological department, who were at a seminar in Cha-am, convened an emergency meeting chaired by Supharek Tansrit-tanawaong, director general.

They had just learned that the Bangkok office had reported an earthquake measuring 8.1 on the Richter scale, which was much lower than the level officially recorded later.

“We didn’t think there would be subsequent seismic waves, because a similar quake of 7.6 on the Richter scale, which hit Sumatra on November 2, 2002, did not affect Thailand,” said a member of the department who asked not to be named.

Moreover, the quake this time hit west of Sumatra and officials thought the island might offer a natural shelter, preventing any waves from breaking towards Phuket and its vicinity, he said.

With slightly less than one hour before the waves came ashore, Supharek said, the department officials did not expect a tsunami. There are just four people on the department’s 900-person staff who were earthquake experts, he said. Also a tsunami had not hit Thailand in more than 300 years.

But sources said they did discuss the likelihood that a tsunami could hit Thailand’s Andaman Sea coastal towns. This was also played down.

“The very important factor in making the decision was that it’s high [tourist] season and
hotel rooms were nearly 100-per-cent full. If we issued a warning, which would have led to an evacuation, [and if nothing happened], what would happen then? Business would be instantly affected. It would be beyond the Meterological Department’s ability to handle. We could go under if [the tsunami] didn’t come,” said a source who attended the meeting.
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http://www.bluelemur.com/index.php?p=519
 
Fresh Prince said:
Wait has he gone back to Sri Lanka? :\
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Just till jan. 10. He and his family went back there just to visit relatives. I'm pretty sure he's fine though, since they are staying in the inner part of Sri Lanka.
 
“The very important factor in making the decision was that it’s high [tourist] season and
hotel rooms were nearly 100-per-cent full. If we issued a warning, which would have led to an evacuation, [and if nothing happened], what would happen then? Business would be instantly affected. It would be beyond the Meterological Department’s ability to handle. We could go under if [the tsunami] didn’t come,” said a source who attended the meeting.
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Wow. Sooooo... if we're going to make $1 billion we don't warn the people, but if it's only $500 million we send out the alarms.
 
Suranga3 said:
Just till jan. 10. He and his family went back there just to visit relatives. I'm pretty sure he's fine though, since they are staying in the inner part of Sri Lanka.
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Good to hear. :)
Hopefully none of his relatives have been widely affected.
 
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Fresh Prince said:
The thing is the US and Pacific do have warning systems thus to a limited extent some lives would be able to be saved. died.
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Not really. Just a note the Canary islands are on the Atlantic side. I saw a special on the Canary Islands and if worse case scenario happens the ensing Tital Wave would

1. Engulf every thing from New York City to Miami.
2. Would go as far in as half the state of Florida. So that means interior of states like North Carolina, Georiga, South Carolina would be innudated with salt water.
3. We would only have 3 to 4 hours of warning.

The first clue would be like it was in Sumatra when the water receeded back into the sea BUT with the Canary Islands the sea would receede back 2 miles and the ensuing tidal wave would be something like 500 feet. This is not to compare situations but to say that with the canary islands the devistation would be catastropic in the extreme.
 
Tommie Hu$tle said:
Not really. Just a note the Canary islands are on the Atlantic side. I saw a special on the Canary Islands and if worse case scenario happens the ensing Tital Wave would

1. Engulf every thing from New York City to Miami.
2. Would go as far in as half the state of Florida. So that means interior of states like North Carolina, Georiga, South Carolina would be innudated with salt water.
3. We would only have 3 to 4 hours of warning.

The first clue would be like it was in Sumatra when the water receeded back into the sea BUT with the Canary Islands the sea would receede back 2 miles and the ensuing tidal wave would be something like 500 feet. This is not to compare situations but to say that with the canary islands the devistation would be catastropic in the extreme.
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Point taken.
 
Damn, reading some of the stories reported in the news paper.. I cant believe its true, its like a nightmare!

A husband carries around his dead wife because he's afraid they will dump her in a mass grave, he's carrying her around in a coffin while he's looking for his two lost sons. :(

Another person wrote an e-mail to Expressen saying there are thousands of people still in the water outside of Thailand, babies!

Seeing the pictures from the place where they put the dead, you can see that the bodies have started to decompose rapidly. Holy shit this is bad. :(
 
Fucking idiots. Unesco had offered tsunami warning systems for free to Indonesia and Sri Lanka and they refused it because "they weren't needed". Just heard it on the news.
 
this will climb rapidly. Showing pictures here in oz of 1 indon city of about 40000 completely gone. They expect a death toll there into the 30000s and this isn'y in any of the figures yet. I expect it to get up over 100k easily
 
The most depressing part of this is that it seems like every time I check the news the total has gone up by another 10,000.
 
Up to at least 80,000 dead now.

Did the wave freaking wash over the entire island of Sri Lanka? They were talking about that train that was flipped and in which everyone died and if I remember correctly that was on the western side.

In some better news a friend of mine from school had gone home to India for the winter break. I finally got an email reply and she's alright and so is her family. They live about 6km away from the eastern shore, but they originally had plans to go to the beach that day but thankfully cancelled.
 
WOW...I just saw the most jaw-dropping footage, yet.

I think it was on MSNBC. The entire clip was in slow motion. The camera got a frontal, slightly vertical view of a 10-foot wave coming in at about 40 mph...and the wave was high enough to completely submerge the camera man. Right before the wave hit the camera, it cut off.

Staggering.
 
115,000 now - 80,000 in Indonesia

In the Globe & Mail, they had a list of such disasters over the last century. An earthquake killed 3 million in China several decades ago (among others - a few above 500k). So, how come people are calling this the largest natural disaster in recorded history? Are the consequences of an earthquake considered 'unnatural' or something?
 
Can anybody point to pictures/footage of the tsunami? I mean the waves themselves, if anything of such is available.
 
Forsete said:
A husband carries around his dead wife because he's afraid they will dump her in a mass grave, he's carrying her around in a coffin while he's looking for his two lost sons. :(
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WTF there is no time for this. If everyone did that, disease would come up and he would die anyway.
 
One of the more terrifying things I saw was in the Times today, talking about an aboriginal tribe on one of the islands that is believed to have been totally wiped out.
 
Socreges said:
115,000 now - 80,000 in Indonesia

In the Globe & Mail, they had a list of such disasters over the last century. An earthquake killed 3 million in China several decades ago (among others - a few above 500k). So, how come people are calling this the largest natural disaster in recorded history? Are the consequences of an earthquake considered 'unnatural' or something?
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The one in China (Tangshan, Hebei) was hushed up by the Communist government. And it's not 3 million -- it's around 300,000.
 
thorns said:
Can anybody point to pictures/footage of the tsunami? I mean the waves themselves, if anything of such is available.
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I never watch TV, and the only footage I saw was from torrent I download called "Tsunami", check torrentspy
 
Socreges said:
115,000 now - 80,000 in Indonesia

In the Globe & Mail, they had a list of such disasters over the last century. An earthquake killed 3 million in China several decades ago (among others - a few above 500k). So, how come people are calling this the largest natural disaster in recorded history? Are the consequences of an earthquake considered 'unnatural' or something?
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They are also talking about the damage to buildings and industry and all of that.
 
I read a newspaper today (The Mirror (UK)) and inside it showed a disturbing scene on an Indonesian Beach, and it showed like, somewhat a thousand dead bodies all washed up on the sea front, amongst the wreckage. Why do they show that shit? :(
 
This is absolutely horrible.

The whole Scandinavia is in a state of utter shock and mourning for the victims. Sweden has been hit hardest with over 1000 people dead, estimate of Finnish victims is nearly 300.

Red Cross here has succeeded in collecting more aid than for any catastrophy ever before. The company I work for has been donating considerable sums of money and sending volunteers to help packaging goods for Red Cross.

The hardest hit area of Khao Lak where very few survived was very popular among Scandinavian tourists. Entire families have been wiped out, newly engaged couples discoupled, children missing parents and vice versa. An entire popular hotel was destroyed with practically everyone killed.
 
The report is now over 3000 swede's missing. The worst catastrophe in their history. Wow.

BTW, my bank has set up and online transfer thingy where I can donate money directly from my account to the American Red Cross. Pretty sweet. (I'm a member of the UW Credit Union) Any other banks doing this?
 
Anybody hear the survivor story about the mother who had to let go of one of her children to save the other?

This child is going to remember that for the rest of his life. "My mom sacrificed my life for my brother."
 
MIMIC said:
Anybody hear the survivor story about the mother who had to let go of one of her children to save the other?

This child is going to remember that for the rest of his life. "My mom sacrificed my life for my brother."
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Wait, so both kids survived?
 
Dan said:
Wait, so both kids survived?
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Yeah. I think they said the boy who was abandoned found a tree and clung to it or something and was ultimately rescued.

EDIT: Found the story:

SYDNEY (Reuters) - Mother of two Jillian Searle had to choose between her children when she made a life-or-death decision.

Swept up by mountainous tsunami waves at a Thai resort, she could not hold on to both her young sons and survive.

Fighting to stay above the surging waters, she had to choose which one would have to take his chances in the swirling, debris-strewn torrent.

"I knew I had to let go of one of them and I just thought I'd better let go of the one that's the oldest," Searle, from the Western Australian city of Perth, told Sky News television in a report broadcast on Thursday.

Searle said she was near the hotel pool on the southern Thai resort island of Phuket with her sons Lachie, 5, and two-year-old Blake when the waves struck.

"A lady grabbed hold of him for a moment but she had to let him go because she was going under," she said referring to Lachie.

"And I was screaming, trying to find him, and we thought he was dead," she told reporters on arrival back in Australia.

Lachie was found alive about two hours later clinging to a door and, though traumatised by his ordeal, looked uninjured as his mother spoke to reporters.

She was accompanied by the two boys and their father, Brad, who had watched the drama helplessly from their first-floor hotel room.
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