I'm under the impression that the world is coming to an end, so you may as well travel while it still exists, eh?
I'm under the impression that the world is coming to an end, so you may as well travel while it still exists, eh?
It was impossible to have prevented, unfortunately. Hopefully though, they will build earthquake resistant buildings during the rebuilding process. It would be an unacceptable crime for them not to.
I can't even imagine how scary it must be, being dragged out to the ocean by a Tsunami. It must have been a horrible way to die. I feel sorry for the victims.
It's nasty and horrible.
more to the point it came out of no where!...it's sad to see all the destruction and a little disturbing that some of the news shows over here are showing pictures of the deadbut i spose that cant be helped. my heart goes out to the unfortunate, and it would be good to see everyone (as in governments and stuff) pitch in and help!
i was reading a newspaper and it had an article about some of the aussies who were there at the time, one guy was saying that while he was at a beach (can't remember where) the water was sucked a kilometre out to sea then came rushing back in 10m waves. scary.
its a teribble disaster that couldn't have been prevented, lets just hope that nothing like this hapens again for a while!
~Friends will keep you sane, Love could fill your heart, A lover can warm your bed, But lonely is the soul without a mate~
Mmmm...as far I know, the biggest registered earthquake in human history was in 1960, Valdivia (Chile). It was of a 9.5. I don't think there's been anything as big since that.Originally Posted by DeBlayde
Geez, what a shame, Validivia is a beautiful city. Here, some impressive images of the city after the disaster:
http://www.angelfire.com/nt/terremotoValdivia/
It's all rebuild now. Good thing, cause it's probably the best city in Chile.
I think we should declare a national war against earthquakes to stop this from ever happening again right this second!
2 aussies are now confirmed dead. Death toll at around 17000 now
Although it couldn't have been prevented, Sri Lanka and India should have warned people what was coming. It took the waves 2 and a half hours to reach Sri Lanka from Indonesia. Sadly, the places hit were mostly poor fishing villages and were too poor to have warnings. Also because of the poverty, it is unlikely that the houses will be rebuilt to withstand tsunami's.
Oh I'm actually half Philippine, so I've been there lots of times.I was there 3-4 years ago and I was in Manila, visiting relatives. You've nothing to worry about, really. It's definitely different from America; it's nothing like America. It even feels different with America. However, you'll feel at peace there. When I came back, I felt like a new man. I hope it does the same to you. Have fun. Oh, and if you don't go to Jolli Bee, I'll hunt you down.And bring me back Jolli Bee's ambrosial spaghetti.
And Jollibee is yum...
We agree.I'm under the impression that the world is coming to an end, so you may as well travel while it still exists, eh?
...
I appreciate your cynicism, but it's gotten me thinking some disturbing thoughts. The US budget is really in the pits thanks to gratuitous military spending and mishandling. I don't know what aide our government's going to give, I just hope that we give all we can. I was watching the report on CNN, they're saying they have no food and no water in some places. Get your boxes ready, a canned food drive or two seems like a good idea.
My sympathies lie with the thousands of people who lost loved ones in that terrible disaster. It is indeed unfortunate that thousands more innocent people should be dying in another area of the world , not to war , drought or disease but succumbing to the destructive powers of Nature. It is a sad reminder of the fragility of human civilization in the face of our Planets elemental forces ,and of the world's respective governments responsibility for the welfare of their citizens ...
Though my grief is nothing compared to my growing sense of anger ...
The tsunami which has ravaged 8 countries in South Asia was the result of a massive undersea earthquake , one that scientists had foreseen happening. The death toll could have been significantly , if not completely reduced had a warning been broadcasted to the affected areas ... why was such a warning not undertaken by the respective authorities ?
I hope the authority figures responsible for such negligence are able to justify their lack of action , or may the blood of thousands rest upon their consciences for the rest of their lives.
The death toll is topping 22,000 now and still going up. This breaks my heart.
Nature doesn't get much uglier than this. A truly horrific disaster... but at least the world is responding quickly. Nations are sending aid and militaru personnel to assist; the UN is making similar steps. Even old hatreds are taking a break, with the Tamil Tiger rebel groups working alonside the government forces they usually oppose, in order to help the victims. [q=Itsunari 2000]
The tsunami which has ravaged 8 countries in South Asia was the result of a massive undersea earthquake , one that scientists had foreseen happening. The death toll could have been significantly , if not completely reduced had a warning been broadcasted to the affected areas ... why was such a warning not undertaken by the respective authorities ?
[/q]Earthquakes aren't exactly predictable. It's easy to say, "OK, so there's going to be a big quake somewhere in this area, in the next century or so", but that's as 'predictable' as it gets. No-one is to blame for this tragedy; many countries have plans for how to respond to such an event, but there's little that could've been done to prevent the loss - aside from blackading the beaches and moving everyone inland decades ago, and forcing them to stay away from the beaches for ever, just about.
I have disagree with you, D. The Pacific ocean has a "Tsunami warning system" set up. The Indian ocean does not. It took some of the waves over an hour to reach some of the places where it did the most damage. Had there been a warning system set up, thousands of people would still be alive right now. These deaths were preventable. It is imperative that an alert system is set up in the Indian ocean, and any other ocean that it is not in. We can't afford to let this happen again.
I'm a bit confused on the exact details, was it an earthquake underwater that caused a tsunami, or did the earthquake also affect the mainland as well as spark a tsunami?
Turns out this is worse than that earthquake. But still not near my family. Wow.
[q=DJZen] Does anyone know if there are any relief funds yet? I know it's still soon, but I really want to contribute in some way.[/q]
Three years ago when the earthquake hit Bhuj, I set up a relief fund chapter in my own high school. I'm pretty sure you can do the same, and simply send everything you've collected to Red Cross. Don't trust the Indian government - they've promised 550 million, but the last time a big natural disaster hit, they mismanaged international relief funds big time, and nearly got Vajpayee kicked out of office instead of voted out.
[q=BtV]I'm a bit confused on the exact details, was it an earthquake underwater that caused a tsunami, or did the earthquake also affect the mainland as well as spark a tsunami?[/q]
Earthquakes always occur at fault lines - turns out this one was underwater, off the coast of Sumatra. One plate slips, which causes an earthquake. Many are familiar with earthquakes over land, but earthquakes over water basically cause tsunamis. So the earthquake itself doesn't deal as much damage, but the tsunamis do.
[q=Chris]I'm leaving for the Philippines next week so I'm a little nervous... although I doubt there's anything to be afraid of.[/q]
Actually answering the original question, you'll be fine - there was just a bunch of crap that happened, so it's unlikely it will happen again very soon.
[q=Itsunari 2000]The tsunami which has ravaged 8 countries in South Asia was the result of a massive undersea earthquake , one that scientists had foreseen happening. The death toll could have been significantly , if not completely reduced had a warning been broadcasted to the affected areas ... why was such a warning not undertaken by the respective authorities ?
I hope the authority figures responsible for such negligence are able to justify their lack of action , or may the blood of thousands rest upon their consciences for the rest of their lives.[/q]
[q=nik0tine]I have disagree with you, D. The Pacific ocean has a "Tsunami warning system" set up. The Indian ocean does not. It took some of the waves over an hour to reach some of the places where it did the most damage. Had there been a warning system set up, thousands of people would still be alive right now. These deaths were preventable. It is imperative that an alert system is set up in the Indian ocean, and any other ocean that it is not in. We can't afford to let this happen again.[/q]
I don't know your level of experience with living in third world countries, but I can tell you India's primary concern isn't spending gazillions on attempting to prevent death due to natural disaster. In fact, since India is primarily Hindu and policy is often dominated by Hindu culture, Indian policy is not going to lean towards preventing Mother Nature's rampage anytime soon. Rather than fundraising for relief, the government will probably fundraise for memorials.
This eerily reminds me of the Bhuj earthquake in early 2001... just when I joined this place. Seems nothing's changed since then - same shocking disaster, same governmental and international response, same generic gestures from people who don't really care towards people actually affected by it, same finger-pointing... hmmph.
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