Rueters: Death Toll Tops 11,300 After Asian Quake, Tsunami

[truthpusher]

http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/nm/20041226/ts_nm/quake_dc_34

Death Toll Tops 11,300 After Asian Quake, Tsunami

5 minutes ago Top Stories - Reuters



By Simon Gardner

COLOMBO, Sri Lanka (Reuters) - One of the most powerful earthquakes in history hit Asia Sunday, unleashing a tsunami which devastated coastal areas of Sri Lanka, India, Indonesia and tourist isles in Thailand, killing more than 11,300 people.

The tsunami, a menacing wall of water, wreaked death, chaos and destruction across southern Asia. Up to 30 feet high, the tsunami was triggered by an 8.9 magnitude underwater earthquake off the Indonesian island of Sumatra.

Emergency services struggled around the region popular with Western tourists flying east for Christmas sunshine. Some areas were totally unprepared and tourists found their holidays turned into disaster zones while anxious families at home awaited news.

In Sri Lanka, where the death toll reached 3,500, corpses floated in floodwaters, while thousands fled their homes and cars floated out to sea. Idyllic beaches were turned into fields of debris and destruction. Around 750,000 people were displaced.


http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/nm/20041226/ts_nm/quake_dc_34

[goforit]

1. Wow!!!......This is so sad.

[gmoney]

48. Wanna see sad? Look at Yahoo boards...

Made the mistake of looking at the postings on this story on Yahoo, and the ugliness of most of the postings is sickening. Blaming the victims, God's punishment, rapture coming, all the rest and worse. Probably the same people who were crusading to keep Christ in Christmas...

http://tinyurl.com/6ya97

[truthpusher]

78. Death Toll Update: Asian death toll passes 13,750

http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,5744,11791412%255E1702,00.html

[truthpusher]

86. Update: Asian quake death toll passes 23,000

http://www.washtimes.com/upi-breaking/20041227-062356-1176r.htm

[truthpusher]

87. FYI: links to earthquake monitoring sites

I thpought this thread from radfringe might be helpfull:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=104x2869528

[truthpusher]

96. Casualty Toll for Foreigners in Disaster

http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/ap/20041227/ap_on_re_as/quake_foreign_victims_glance_1

[Carl Brennan]

98. I have been sending messages to Yahoo admin screaming to have

those message boards shut down. The despicable slime writing that stuff should be tracked down and drug to into the town square for exposure. :grr:

The link to post a complaint. It looks like a few of these topics have already been shut down. We should flood them with complaints:

http://help.yahoo.com/help/my/myyahoo

[Why Syzygy]

103. surprised by this

These so called 'saved' people need more help than anyone. Soul-less.
I pray (to universal mind) that they recover it.

[NYC]

2. I wonder how long the destruction will continue.

I haven't read any projections. An amazing number of dead in so little time. I have heard nothing about the U.S. offering aid.

[StopDiggingTheHole]

61. You have heard nothing about the U.S. offering aid

Just as nearly every major disaster outside the US has been given aid by the USA is factual we will continue that tradition in this case too. I can't even imagine why this would be a concern at this early stage in this terrible loss of life disaster.

Regardless who is the President, the US has always helped in these situations in recent years.

[NYC]

82. Then we should be hearing about it.

"I can't even imagine why this would be a concern at this early stage in this terrible loss of life disaster."

Because they need it NOW.

[hippiechick]

3. duplicate thread

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=102&topic_id=1099499&mesg_id=1099499


:hippie:

[truthpusher]

4. Which was also a duplicate thread...

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=102x1098957

however I did not realize that the previous thread was keeping a human death toll. The headline however reflects the magnitude of that toll.

[Moderator]

6. Locked the older threads

in favor of this one which, as you put it so well, reflects the magnitude.

[Pithy Cherub]

5. Just heard this on the Weather Channel as well.

The number is just hearstopping. TWC said thousands upon thousands were missing! A terrible global tragedy.

[Nothing Without Hope]

7. What's the latest on Bangladesh?

It has so many people living in low-lying areas near the water. I'm imagining that this must have hit them especially hard. Has anyone heard a recent update on this area?

[truthpusher]

33. There is a mention in this article...

Death toll in Tamil Nadu alone, closes in on 2,000 http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/articleshow/971698.cms

[anakie]

43. nothing mentioned on Australian tv news this morning

on Bangladesh. Bangladesh is a long way north of where most of the devestation occured. Maybe they got a break with this one.

[NYC]

8. Landmines uprooted in Sri Lanka.

Local media reported landmines sown during Sri Lanka's two decade civil war had been uprooted and spread by floods.

From Swiss Info:

http://www.swissinfo.org/sen/swissinfo.html?siteSect=143&sid=5430332

[truthpusher]

32. Sri Lanka tsunami kills 3,500, strands 750,000

http://in.news.yahoo.com/041226/137/2io3l.html

[mcscajun]

9. And then there will come the 'aftershocks'

which, given not only the magnitude, but the length of the fault break involved, will be wide-spread.

The damage will in all likelihood continue over the next few days, unfortunately. As will the casualty count.

From the news wires: The 25-nation EU will deliver $4 million in emergency aid as a start.

And from * -- In the United States, the White House released a statement from Deputy Press Secretary Trent Duffy saying the president "expresses his sincere condolences for the terrible loss of life and suffering caused by the earthquake and subsequent tsunamis. The United States stands ready to offer all appropriate assistance to those nations most affected including Sri Lanka, the Maldives, Thailand, and Indonesia, as well as the other countries impacted," the statement said. Already relief is flowing to Sri Lanka and the Maldives."

The statement added that the United States would "work with the affected governments, the United Nations, non-governmental organizations, and other concerned states and organizations to support the relief and response to this terrible tragedy."

[Blue Gardener]

13. WTF? The Deputy Press Secretary?

Shouldn't someone a little higher up get in front of a camera and say something?

[mcscajun]

26. That was my first reaction.

:wtf:

[Nothing Without Hope]

51. Maybe an initial speaker can be Deputy, but the Prez ...

... should have made a statement soon thereafter. The Deputy Press Sec'y may have been the first speaker immediately after the news was received because this is the day after Christmas and the primary may not be in an immediately reachable spot. But the President of the US should have come forward within a few hours to make a statement, including that plans for relief efforts were being organized. Also to be included: numbers to call and web sites to go to in order to donate.

Of course, Pres * (still hoping he won't be **) couldn't be bothered.

[shuffnew]

97. Not surprising...

from a Prez who couldn't address his own nation after 9/11 for 12 hours. Tony Blair was the first of any government official to address us after the 9/11 attack. Baldy and Bush were in hiding.

[Why Syzygy]

104. What do we know of this particular falut line?

I would like to do some research.
TIA

Found these:

http://neic.usgs.gov/neis/bulletin/neic_slav_ts.html

http://demon.twinflame.org/002896.php

[Nothing Without Hope]

10. Here's the BBC/South Asia link

here:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/south_asia

[Nothing Without Hope]

14. Something from the BBC/S Asia site

...gives an idea of the scale of this disaster and how little we know about it as yet:

Scale of devastation

Thousands are reported to have been killed, but there has been little news from the worst-hit areas where all transport and communication links were destroyed.

Hundreds are still thought to be missing from coastal regions and, in Sri Lanka alone, officials say more than a million people have been forced from their homes.

This is a kind of answer to the question I raised elsewhere on this thread about Bangladesh, I'm afraid. It's in the path, and there are thousands living in low-lying, vulnerable areas. If there is no communication from it, and so far I have not seen any, this by itself is a bad sign.

[htuttle]

16. It's the same with Burma/Myanmar

They have one report from a ship that 10 were killed when a bridge was destroyed, but no other news other than 'there have been casualties'. Burma was even closer to the epicenter than Bangladesh.

[Nothing Without Hope]

22. You're right. So far I can only find this at the BBC/S Asia site

for Burma:

BURMA

The south-eastern coast is reported to have been struck by a huge wave


The numbers for all these countries in deaths and other losses are going to be huge. And already there are so many missing.

[Danmel]

81. Hard to get news out of Burma

They have one hell of repressive police state there- you'll get no meaningful news- the poor people there won't get any aid- business as usual- Burma is one of the great underreported tragedies of the world.
A place to be very thankful you're not from.

[HeeBGBz]

54. Bangladesh had a 7.1 about the same time as the 9.0 in Indonesia

In the original series of quakes.

[happyslug]

11. Two days after a 8.1 South of Australia? It occurred on 12/24.

http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/afp/20041224/sc_afp/australiaantarcticaquake_041224175049
That one says a 8.9 and larger earthquake occurs every 4 years of so, two in three days?

[Pithy Cherub]

20. That is exceedingly important especially along the Ring of Fire,

the type of earthquake needs to be determined. Did the plates shift and where did the pressure go to other plates? The other interesting geological items was the recent return of activity at Mt. St. Helens. That may be completely unrelated, but...

Will check the US Geological site. http://www.usgs.gov/

[Wilber_Stool]

28. I think I read this morning that

it was a uplift fault. That would explain the large tsunami. USGS says after shocks in the 5.6 range.
I hate to say this but I wouldn't be suprised if the death toll was in the 50 to 100,000 range.

[Nothing Without Hope]

63. Yes, a massive vertical thrust, about 1000 km long and 10 m high

This info is from the BBC/S Asia site.

At 0759 (0059 GMT) a violent rupture occurred on the sea floor along a fault about 1,000km long.

All along the rupture the seafloor was shunted vertically by about 10 metres.

This movement displaced hundreds of cubic kilometres of the overlaying water, generating a massive tsunami, or tidal wave.

The wave then fanned out across the Indian Ocean at enormous speed. (In the graphic it says the speed is up to 500 km/h, but slows to 45 km/h as it reaches near shore and is squeezed upwards by the seabottom

The scale of all this is beyond awesome.

[happyslug]

34. That why I brought it up, two 8.0+ earthquakes in three days...

I was srong on the first, it was 12/23/04:



Here is another map of the Second:


From the US Geologicial surveu:

"Today's shallow, thrust-type earthquake occurred off the west coast of northern Sumatra at the interface between the India and Burma plates. In this region, the Burma plate is characterized by significant strain partitioning due to oblique convergence of the India and Australia plates to the west and the Sunda and Eurasian plates to the east. Off the west coast of northern Sumatra, the India plate is moving in a northeastward direction at about 5 cm per year relative to the Burma plate. Preliminary locations of larger aftershocks following today's earthquake show that approximately 1000 km of the plate boundary slipped as a result of the earthquake. Aftershocks are distributed along much of the shallow plate boundary between northern Sumatra (approximately 3 degrees north) to near Andaman Island (at about 14 degrees north)."

[happyslug]

39. Ring of Fire map

Appears the two earthquakes are on two different lines of the ring. This would indicate NO connection.





Now the December 23/24 earthquakes was on a "Divergent" Plate, where the EARTH is WIDENING as two plates diverge from each other. This latest earthquakes is on a "CONVERGENT" Plate where one plate is being forced deep into the earht by another plate. These are on opposite sides of the SAME PLATE. I may be back to the two quakes being connected, the December 23/24 earthquake "permitting" the Plate (as opposed to the Fault) to adjust causing the Quake of today.

[Pithy Cherub]

42. Excellent Map of the Pushing & Shoving that is going on.

It will take a couple of days to determine, but were they 'adjusting' or setting up some sort of domino effect. Just don't know. Thanks again for your most excellent map.

[happyslug]

45. The Second and smaller map is the most interesting

It shows the divergent and convergent lines. One way to look at this is as if you have a stone in your lawn. You kick the stone on one side (The earthquake of December 23/24) that causes the stone to dig deeper on the other side (Today's Quake). The big question is this ALL, or will further adjustments be needed given the movement of the "Stone"? We will have to wait and see.

[Pithy Cherub]

62. Thank you! The magnitude of the aftershocks over the next 48 hours

will give us a fragment more usable information. For all of these people, there are still huge issues especially where they set up rescue efforts et al. Did this mainly occur on volcanic rock and which areas are subject to liquefaction? Once liquifaction takes place what is the length of time to solidify - and how much will that be retarded by the aftershocks... Much to study!

This is shaping up to be the most cataclysmic seismic event in my lifetime.

[happyslug]

71. Born after 1964 I see.

The 1964 Alaska Earthquake was bigger, its affects were vast but given the lack of population in Alaska at that time very small loss of life. While the Earthquake was off the Coast of Alaska, waves hit California and Oregon and while as Japan. In Japan the loss of life was minimized by the delay in the Tsunami took to reach Japan (But even the 11 hours delay to get to California lead to the death of 11 people camping on California Beach). More people would have been killed except for it was an Early Good Friday that year so no one was on the Beaches.

http://www.olympus.net/personal/gofamily/quake/famous/1964.html
http://www.ce.washington.edu/~liquefaction/html/quakes/alaska/alaska.html
http://wcatwc.gov/64quake.htm
http://pamelajoy.com/quake.php


Papers on the Quake:
http://www.lib.uaa.alaska.edu/archives/ResHighlights/8EARTHQK.html

Here is a dual map of the Alaska Earthquake of 1964 and the Chilian earthquake of 1960 and how long it took the Tsunamis to hit where.

[Pithy Cherub]

76. Delete Dupe

[Pithy Cherub]

77. The loss of life is profound.

Because of the amount of open water in 1960 and 1964 the Tsunami's were able to spread out. This one was a tight area where in the first hours those Tsunami's were hitting.
The loss of life is profound...

Thank you very much for the reading material. You must be a serious professional geologist - most greatful for you sharing expertise today!

[happyslug]

90. I am NOT a geologist.

have to much respect for that profession to leave you with that impression. I just have a good working knowledge of the Subject, enough to keep me abreast of the subject but it is NOT what I studied in College nor will I call myself an expert in the field.

[FlavaKreemSnak]

12. Here is the url to donate to the relief effort

People always want to send clothes and blankets but getting it there takes a long time and most stuff is cheaper to buy in the parts of India that did not get hit, so please just donate money to Red Cross and Red Crescent, that is the best way to help.

http://www.ifrc.org/helpnow/donate/donate_response.asp

The International Federation has launched a preliminary appeal for 7.5 million Swiss francs to assist some 500,000 people and bring immediate support to relief operations of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies in Sri Lanka, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand and other countries in the region after the strongest earthquake in 40 years caused massive tidal waves, killing thousands and leaving more than one million displaced and homeless.

http://www.ifrc.org/

[Melinda]

21. Done; thank you so very much for posting this. eom

[Nothing Without Hope]

15. More about international relief agencies' efforts here

at this link:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/4126241.stm

This doesn't give donation details, but says something about how the different agences that are involving themselves

[idealista]

17. what about all the ships at sea? n/t

[FarLeftRage]

19. Ships out on the open sea are not affected

In fact, they did not even feel it...

[happyslug]

37. The interaction of the Tsunami and the Continental Shelves

That causes the most damages, in deep water the Tsunami can go DEEP into the oceans depths, thus the wave merely lefts the water maybe just by a few inches. The problems occurs when the Wave hits the Continental shelf. At that point the wave has no place to go but UP, and that is why the danger is NOT in the high seas by near the coasts.

[Minstrel Boy]

18. IRIS seismic monitor

World map of recent activity:

http://www.iris.edu/seismon/

[Mrs. Overall]

23. There have been 16 aftershocks ranging between 5.5 and 7.1--

This quake was so massive that there is more than one area experiencing strong aftershocks: The Nicobar Islands and the Andaman Islands near India.

The USGS has a great site to follow all of the aftershocks as they happen:
http://neic.usgs.gov/neis/bulletin/

(this link will not convert correctly--the last slash won't underline, so you may have to paste it into your browser)

More info. from the USGS page specifically on the 8.9 event:

Today's shallow, thrust-type earthquake occurred off the west coast of northern Sumatra at the interface between the India and Burma plates. In this region, the Burma plate is characterized by significant strain partitioning due to oblique convergence of the India and Australia plates to the west and the Sunda and Eurasian plates to the east. Off the west coast of northern Sumatra, the India plate is moving in a northeastward direction at about 5 cm per year relative to the Burma plate. Preliminary locations of larger aftershocks following today's earthquake show that approximately 1000 km of the plate boundary slipped as a result of the earthquake. Aftershocks are distributed along much of the shallow plate boundary between northern Sumatra (approximately 3 degrees north) to near Andaman Island (at about 14 degrees north).

More at:

http://earthquake.usgs.gov/eqinthenews/2004/usslav/

[Oreegone]

24. At-a-glance: Countries hit

INDONESIA

Epicentre of earthquake off the western island of Sumatra

Dozens of buildings destroyed in the initial quake before a huge wall of water, up to 10m high in places, hit the provinces of Aceh and North Sumatra

Coastal towns and villages, and the resort island of Nias, swamped

SRI LANKA

Wide stretch of the eastern coastline - from Jaffna in the north to the popular tourist beaches in the south - devastated

Districts of Muttur and Trincomalee reportedly inundated by waves as high as 6m

Port in the capital, Colombo, shut by flash floods

More than a million people have been forced from their homes, officials say

INDIA

More than 2000km (1243 miles) of southern coast swamped by tidal waves, including states of Tamil Nadu - whose capital, Madras, was particularly badly hit - Andhra Pradesh, and Kerala, as well as federally administered territory of Pondicherry

Vast swathes of countryside submerged

Heavy damage is also reported in the Andaman and Nicobar islands

THAILAND

Western coast of southern Thailand badly affected, including Phuket and Phi Phi islands and mainland resorts of Krabi and Phang Nga

MALDIVES

High waves and floods inundate islands

Large areas of the capital, Male, left under water and some low lying islands abandoned

Some of the country's 200 islands cannot be contacted

MALAYSIA

People reported to have been swept away from beaches near the northern island of Penang and others are said to have died in Kedah state

SOMALIA

Northern Somali coastline, more than 6,000 km (3,728 miles) from the epicentre, is reported affected

Wave hits town of Garacad in central Somalia, reportedly drowning several people and capsizing fishing boats

BURMA

The south-eastern coast is reported to have been struck by a huge wave

Story from BBC NEWS:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/in_depth/4126019.stm

Published: 2004/12/26 19:22:16 GMT

© BBC MMIV

[gulfcoastliberal]

25. Meanwhile all of cable news can't be bothered to cut away

from their pre-recorded bullshit. Incredible.

[tjdee]

27. Are these low lying areas?

I'm very stupid about things like this. Are these areas are below/at sea level? Though, they wouldn't have to be, necessarily, with 30 foot waves.

This is horrific news and I don't know how you recover from something like this. The beaches alone must be terrible to see.

[alexisfree]

29. bbc

is life video now....http://news.bbc.co.uk/

[Gregorian]

30. 8.9?! That's nearly 100 times as strong as 7.0

How very sad. I posted that the Pope should be concerned about the people of Iraq, too. But I can see how that was premature. These people have been devastated. It's an imminent part of nature. We are all at risk of this kind of thing by living on this planet. This is all the more reason to not pick up arms against each other. I pray they don't sustain more than they already have.

[leQ]

44. USGS now puts it at a full 9.0 (eom)

.

[lovuian]

47. I heard on CNN it was 9.2 WHOAH!!!

:bounce:

[hatrack]

50. Haven't heard of anything comparable in historic times - New Madrid maybe

Biggest seismic event in my lifetime, that's for sure. These people are going to need all the help we can give. :cry:

[HeeBGBz]

59. The '64 quake in Alaska was 9.1 I think

Don't know of any others.

[burrowowl]

68. It is the 5th largest

since 1900.
The Alaska Quake 40 years ago was 9.1.

[SariesNightly]

31. Unbelievable

I saw something about mega tsunamis on Discovery some time back, the waves would be as high as a 100 metres from crest to trough and will devastate the entire eastern seaboard, all the way to south America, Britain and Spain.

I dismissed it as kookie science. Now I'm not too sure.

[Redstone]

35. Seychelles hit hard also

My wife's cousin gave us a rundown today on the tsunami's effect in the Seychelles...airport cut off from Victoria (bridge washed out); major damage to the large commercial shipping pier in Victoria; number of missing people unknown. Likely severe damage to the airport itself given that the runway is about fifteen feet above high tide.

Reports of severe damage on the islands of Praslin and La Digue. Most marinas and beachfront homes/hotels on the east side of Mahe (the main island) gone or wrecked.

Unfortunately, because so few people (throughout the world) know anything about how underwater earthquakes generate tsunamis, what happened was that some number of people in the Seychelles (for whatever reason) went to the water's edge after feeling the earthquake. Fortunately, most were able to scramble uphill after seeing the first large wave rise up.

The Seychelles are somewhat lucky, though, because they have steep hills right near the shoreline in most places, so people could climb out out of danger. I suspect that the Maldives (which are flat and close to Sri Lanka) took a terrible beating.

Am waiting to see what AmericaCares (www.americares.org) is going to put together for a relief effort so I can help them out financially. Please do so as well if you can afford to.

Those of you who are religious, put in a prayer for the folks around the Indian Ocean who got hit by this, if you would be so kind.

These are not prosperous countries, and the people there will need all the help they can get.

Redstone

[Minstrel Boy]

40. Emergency declared in the Maldives

COLOMBO, Sri Lanka (Reuters) -- The Maldives declared a state of emergency on Sunday after a tsunami wave deluged the remote Indian Ocean island cluster and flooded two thirds of the capital. Officials said 10 people were feared dead.

Seawater poured into the heavily built-up streets of Male, forcing residents to wade thigh-high to try and save their vehicles. Many cars were swamped and unsalvagable.

The international airport was unusable.

Television footage showed Maldivians wading through Male, picking up debris and garbage. The government was unable to reach many of the archipelago's more remote islands because phone lines were down.

http://edition.cnn.com/2004/WORLD/asiapcf/12/26/quake.maldives.reut/

[Stinky The Clown]

36. Casualty figures ........

..... from BBC's web site, where there is also video:

Sri Lanka: 3,538 dead
Indonesia: 4,185 dead
India: 2,000 dead
Thailand: 257 dead
Malaysia: 28 dead
Maldives: 10 dead
Bangladesh: 2 dead

[malaise]

41. Sadly

We're talking about at least 50,000 dead in this tragedy.

[satori]

38. Of every 30 major earthquakes, some 21 or 22 follow a nuclear explosion

A vast majority of earthquakes could be man made and/or from underground Nuclear testing.


" It is impossible to have an underground nuclear test without creating an earthquake - not necessarily in the immediate vicinity but anywhere in the world. Of every 30 major earthquakes,some 21 or 22 follow a nuclear explosion. There are other reasons for earthquakes, but the vast majority are the result of underground nuclear testing. We need not test nuclear bombs. Self-interest is causing these earthquakes," said one geologist who has been monitoring the corelation.

http://www.expressindia.com/quake/messages/75.html

http://www.whale.to/b/jeffrey1.html

http://www.shareintl.org/archives/environmental/faq_environment.htm

[allemand]

46. Death toll now at 12,300

Asian quake floods kill 12,300

Sun Dec 26, 2004 11:23 PM GMT

http://www.reuters.co.uk/newsArticle.jhtml?type=worldNews&storyID=644565§ion=news&src=rss/uk/worldNews

I have to say, though, after seeing aereal pictures of the costal destruction in Sri Lanka, that the real death toll could easily be 10 times higher. It looks just like Hiroshima.

[proud patriot]

49. how do we help ?

Are there any aid organizations to connact :cry:

[Melinda]

55. FlavKreemSnak posted above; here is the link:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=102x1099796#1099895

[HeeBGBz]

52. The shaking continues.

This is just for so far today.

26th December 2004
15:12 NICOBAR ISLANDS, INDIA REGION 5.6
15:06 OFF W COAST OF NORTHERN SUMATR 5.7
14:48 ANDAMAN ISLANDS, INDIA REGION 5.9
13:56 OFF W COAST OF NORTHERN SUMATR 5.9
12:11 ANDAMAN ISLANDS, INDIA REGION 5.5
12:09 ANDAMAN ISLANDS, INDIA REGION 5.4
11:05 ANDAMAN ISLANDS, INDIA REGION 6.3
10:19 ANDAMAN ISLANDS, INDIA REGION 6.2
10:18 NICOBAR ISLANDS, INDIA REGION 5.5
09:20 NICOBAR ISLANDS, INDIA REGION 6.5
07:38 ANDAMAN ISLANDS, INDIA REGION 5.8
07:07 ANDAMAN ISLANDS, INDIA REGION 5.7
06:21 ANDAMAN ISLANDS, INDIA REGION 5.7
04:21 NICOBAR ISLANDS, INDIA REGION 7.3
03:08 ANDAMAN ISLANDS, INDIA REGION 6.1
02:59 OFF W COAST OF NORTHERN SUMATR 5.9
02:51 ANDAMAN ISLANDS, INDIA REGION 6.0
02:36 ANDAMAN ISLANDS, INDIA REGION 5.8
02:34 OFF W COAST OF NORTHERN SUMATR 5.8
02:22 NICOBAR ISLANDS, INDIA REGION 6.0
02:15 ANDAMAN ISLANDS, INDIA REGION 5.8

It remains highly active.

[satori]

67. Correct me if I am wrong

But of those stats it says 21 earthquakes that are between 5-3 and 7.3, and is it not possible that 21 additional tsunami's are possible? Or can one say even at the least 3 or 4 more tsunami's can come from 21 more earthquakes? Earthquakes are not aftershocks right?

[Nothing Without Hope]

53. Nominated for DU home page. And a question about warnings

My question: why was there not an effective tsunami warning system in place like those in Hawaii and Japan? Even blanket radio warnings might have helped. The arrival times of the killer waves at the different sites are precisely predictable.

In addition to all the aid to the victims of these disasters, there needs to be a concerted effort to design systems to prevent it happening again with so little warning. And it WILL happen again, just a question of when.

[Minstrel Boy]

56. The Toba supervolcano is in Sumatra.

It last erupted about 75,000 years ago, and all but eradicated humanity.

I don't know when it's projected to blow again, but I wonder what a nearby 9.2 earthquake means to it.

[daleo]

57. From my old Geophysics textbook, circa 1985

(Introduction to Geophysics, Garland)
Magnitude, number per year, description
8, 1.1, Great Earthquakes
7-7.9, 18, Major Earthquakes
6-6.9, 120, Destructive Earthquakes
5-5.9, 800, Damaging Earthquakes
4-4.9, 6200, Minor Earthquakes
3-3.9, 49000, Smallest generally felt
2-2.9, 300000, Sometimes felt

So, a magnitude 9.2 is very rare and very powerful - literally off the scale, in this case.

My old geology textbook (Introduction to Geology, Stokes, Judson, Picard) doesn't show any recorded earthquakes greater than 8.6. The San Fransisco earthquake of 1906 was estimated to be magnitude 8.25. It also gives the energy release of a magnitude 9.0 earthquake as 179,000,000 tons of TNT, or 179 Megatons. A magnitude 9.2 would probably be significantly more (the scale is logarithmic), so lets say about 400 Megatons.

I am actually surprised by these latter figures, which I would have expected to be much higher. It puts the Russian 60 MT nuclear test of the early 1960s into some perspective.

[Minstrel Boy]

66. Force equal to a million Hiroshimas

Enzo Boschi, the head of Italy's National Geophysics Institute, likened the quake's power to detonating a million atomic bombs the size of those dropped on Japan during World War II, and said the shaking was so powerful it even disturbed the Earth's rotation.

"All the planet is vibrating" from the quake, he told Italian state radio. Other scientists said it was early to say whether the rotation was affected by the quake.

The earthquake occurred at a spot where the Indian Ocean plate is gradually being forced underneath Sumatra, which is part of the Eurasian plate, at about the speed at which a human fingernail grows, Booth explained.

"This slipping doesn't occur smoothly," he said. Rocks along the edge stick against one another and pent-up energy builds over hundreds of years.

http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/national/apscience_story.asp?category=1501&slug=Quake%20Explainer

[satori]

70. The quake = to a million nukes is some firepower. Why no 24 hour news?

Why no 24 hour news coverage? With the earth being hit with something equal to 1 million nukes that has to really be huge news. We should be having 24 hour coverage with all the Science geeks explaining all this and what could happen in the future.

[Lydia Leftcoast]

73. Because it's foreigners on the other side of the world dying

Sorry to be so cynical, but I'm afraid that's the truth. :-(

If even one American was killed, we'll start seeing news coverage.

[daleo]

74. The earth literally rings after a big earthquake, for quite a while.

The waves take about 140 minutes or so to travel through the earth, and "free oscillations excited by a major earthquake persist for several days...but their amplitude diminshes...".

Examining the resulting seismic waves gives a look at the deep structure of the earth. I suppose quite a bit might be learned by geophysicists from this tragic event. I am not thinking of oil exploration, but the rather the inner earth, core, mantle, etc. when I say this.

The water waves were going 500 miles an hour according to the article you linked to. That's pretty amazing. As for the energy release, it is larger than my book says, but there has undoubtedly been development of the energy equations since then.

[satori]

58. Cohen-Terrorists seek to alter the climate by setting off earthquakes

“Others are engaging even in an eco-type of terrorism whereby they can alter the climate, set off earthquakes, volcanoes remotely through the use of electromagnetic waves… So there are plenty of ingenious minds out there that are at work finding ways in which they can wreak terror upon other nations…It's real, and that's the reason why we have to intensify our efforts.”

Secretary of Defense William Cohen at an April 1997 counterterrorism conference sponsored by former Senator Sam Nunn. Quoted from DoD News Briefing, Secretary of Defense William S. Cohen, Q&A at the Conference on Terrorism, Weapons of Mass Destruction, and U.S. Strategy, University of Georgia, Athens, Apr. 28, 1997.

http://www.freepressinternational.com/wc.html

http://www.globalresearch.ca/articles/CHO201A.html

[daleo]

60. Yikes, Ossama has an earthquake machine!

If he ever figures out how to aim it correctly...

[htuttle]

64. OMG!

That's the plot to the next Bond movie!

It was supposed to be a secret.

[daleo]

65. It gives new meaning to "shaken, not stirred". n/t

[pookieblue]

69. OMG, this is so sad.

I really have nothing else to say other than that.

[Nothing Without Hope]

72. You know that the wingnut fundies are going to seize on this tragedy

...as proof that the End Times are near. I'll bet they're already preaching about it to their sheep on TV and Radio. More of the "join us or else and damn the rest of the world" mentality we are all too familiar with.

[Ian David]

75. Bush Declares War on Tsunamis

On September 11th, we lost less than 4,000 people to terrorists, and we declared a war on terror.

Today, the world lost well over 10,000 people to tidal waves, so Bush has declared a Global war on Tsunamis.


After all, in 1984, when over 15,000 people died in Bhopal, India due to the gross negligence of Union Carbide, didn't President Ronald Reagan declare a Global War Against Chemical Accidents?

No?

OK, wasn't there at least a Global War Against Union Carbide?

No?

Oh, wait...

Bush is NOT going to declare a Global War Against Tsunamis?

Was it because there were only three Americans know to have been killed so far? Is it because Bush can't pronounce "tsunami"? Is it because there are "no good military targets?"

Well, it was a good thought, anyway.

[BrightKnight]

79. We need to send a hospital ship and small craft to recover the bodies.

It would not hurt to send an emergency Peace Corps mission. This is an excellent opportunity to work on world image problem.

[Cymbaline68]

80. Good thought, but

they aren't white, they aren't Christian, and they have no natural resources for us to plunder (as least as far as I know).

[shawmut]

83. Death toll now at 13,390

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story2&u=/ap/20041227/ap_on_re_as/indonesia_earthquake


:(

[genieroze]

84. Update

Asian Tsunamis Kill at Least 13,340 People
59 minutes ago

By DILIP GANGULY, Associated Press Writer

COLOMBO, Sri Lanka - Legions of rescuers spread across Asia Monday after an earthquake of epic power struck deep beneath the Indian Ocean, unleashing 20-foot tidal waves that ravaged coasts across thousands of miles and killed more than 13,340 people and left millions homeless in the fourth-largest temblor in a century.

Photo
AP Photo

Reuters Photo
Reuters
Slideshow Slideshow: Indonesia Quake Sparks Fatal Tidal Waves

AP Video Asian Quakes' Tsunami Kill More Than 8,000
(AP Video)


The death toll along the southern coast of Asia — and as far west as Somalia, on the African coast, where nine people were reported lost — steadily increased as authorities sorted out a far-flung disaster caused by Sunday's 9.0-magnitude earthquake, strongest in 40 years.

Signs of the carnage were everywhere: Dozens of bodies still clad in swimming trunks lined beaches in Thailand. Villagers in Indonesia picked through the debris of destroyed houses amid the smell of rotting corpses. Hundreds of prisoners escaped a coastal jail in Sri Lanka.

More than one million people were driven from their homes in Indonesia alone, and rescuers there on Monday combed seaside villages for survivors. The Indian air force used helicopters to rush food and medicine to stricken seashore areas.

http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=516&u=/ap/20041227/ap_on_re_as/indonesia_earthquake&printer=1

[FDRrocks]

85. My best friend is in Thailand teaching english....

I've been trying to call him over the past couple of days and the numbers haven't been working. Does anyone know if Thailands phone systems got messed with, or if people going to that country to teach usually end up in the "tourist isles" this article is referring to?

:( 11k+, it's really sad.

[blueblitzkrieg]

88. CNN reports 21,000+ dead.

Just unbelievable. What a nightmare.

[allemand]

89. Hundreds of Somalis died, entire villages and towns disappeared

NAIROBI (AP): Hundreds of people died and entire villages and towns disappeared when tidal waves hit Somalia's coastline along its central and northeastern regions, a Somali presidential spokesman said.

The waves, which hit on Sunday, were triggered by the 9.0-magnitude undersea quake centered off the Indonesian island of Sumatra, 4,500 kilometers away.

The "human loss is in the hundreds in the central and northeastern coastal area. ... Entire villages and coastal town have been swept away by the tidal waves and there is severe damage to property," said Yusuf Ismail, spokesman of Somalia's President Abduallhi Yusuf Ahmed.

More:
http://www.thejakartapost.com/detaillatestnews.asp?fileid=20041227211600&irec=1

[MaineDem]

92. Somalia has suffered a lot lately

Total understatement, I know.

[lebkuchen]

91. Ko Phi Phi is a very small island off Phuket

It would have been inundated...there aren't even any cars there other than a few put put trucks to haul things around. European tourists love this island. It's dumbell shape, and one can walk across from the south to north beach in four minutes.

[satori]

93. Tsunami Kills 22,000 in Nine Countries

Monday December 27, 2004 3:01 PM

AP Photo XSP114

By DILIP GANGULY

Associated Press Writer

COLOMBO, Sri Lanka (AP) - Rescuers piled up bodies along southern Asian coastlines devastated by tidal waves that obliterated seaside towns and killed more than 22,000 people in nine countries, and officials indicated Monday the death toll could climb far higher.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/worldlatest/story/0,1280,-4696080,00.html

[allemand]

94. Indonesian vice president: up to 10,000 killed in Banda Aceh alone

Indonesian toll could hit 10,000
By Tomi Soetjipto

BANDA ACEH, Indonesia (Reuters) - Indonesia's vice president Jusuf Kalla says the death toll from a tsunami that swept across the Indian ocean region could hit 10,000 in one area of the country alone.

<...>

Kalla's comments came after a visit to this provincial capital where rescue workers were pulling hundreds of bodies from treetops, rivers and wrecked homes, trying to clean up before disease could spread.

Speaking in the northern Sumatran city of Medan, Kalla said: "In Banda Aceh, the deaths (could be) between 5,000 to 10,000".

<...>

In the city centre, dozens of bodies were still scattered on streets and masses of debris -- mud, ruined trucks and cars, mangled motorcycles and wood from shattered houses -- had yet to be cleared after the tsunami swept several kilometres inland.

More:
http://www.reuters.co.uk/newsArticle.jhtml?type=topNews&storyID=645089

[allemand]

101. Cease-fire declared in Aceh

TNI, GAM to temporarily bury the hatchet

Tiarma Siboro, The Jakarta Post/Jakarta

The Indonesian military (TNI) and Aceh separatists have agreed separately to a temporary halt in hostilities after Sunday's earthquake and tsunami disaster.

Chief of the Indonesian military (TNI) Gen. Endriartono Sutarto said on Monday that the TNI would reassign most troops to relief efforts, and he asked that the Free Aceh Movement (GAM) rebels do the same.

The cease-fire was urgent, so both sides could focus on helping the victims of the disaster, said Endriartono.

<...>

A GAM spokesman said that its central command in Sweden had already issued orders to all of GAM's armed units in Aceh to cease hostilities and focus on relief efforts.

More:
http://www.thejakartapost.com/detailheadlines.asp?fileid=20041228.A03&irec=6

[allemand]

102. Aceh could be worst hit

"JAKARTA — With a long-running separatist conflict that has sealed it from the outside world and left large parts in ruins, Indonesia's remote Aceh region is one of the most ill-prepared to cope with Asia's devastating earthquake.

There was a chilling silence from Aceh, on the northern tip of Sumatra island, in the hours after the huge tremor struck on Sunday — even as casualty reports poured in from as far afield as Thailand, India and the Maldives.

Yet Aceh, which appears to have taken the full brunt of the quake and the tsunami that followed, suffered huge fatalities and is likely to emerge as the worst affected area.

The devastation wrought by the tremor and tidal waves is likely to be exacerbated by the fact that Aceh is in the throes of a 28-year independence struggle that has left the region a crumbling war zone off limits to outsiders."

More:
http://www.todayonline.com/articles/31923.asp

[allemand]

95. 30,000 missing in Andaman and Nicobar islands off India

http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/ShTickers.html

Oh my God!

On edit:

"30 000 missing on Indian islands
27/12/2004 18:25  - (SA)  

Port Blair, India - At least 3 000 people died in the Andaman and Nicobar islands and 30 000 people are missing after five villages in the archipelago were swept away by a tsunami, district official GC Gupta said on Monday.

Earlier in the day, defence minister Pranab Mukherjee and Congress Party leader Sonia Gandhi visited the capital of the island chain in the Indian Ocean to assess the damage.

Gupta said an Indian air force base on Greater Car Nicobar island was swept away by a tsunami that struck on Sunday and more than 100 military personnel and family and support workers are believed dead."

More:
http://www.news24.com/News24/World/News/0,,2-10-1462_1640471,00.html

[Carl Brennan]

99. Has anybody here worked in these relief agencies or know much

about it?

Have a friend that has?

[kerrygoddess]

100. Action Alert: List of Agencies for Donations to Aid Asia

http://www.lightupthedarkness.org/blog/default.asp?view=plink&id=168