Biggest earthquake in 40 years hits Southeast Asia

[Giancarlo]

The grandson of the Thai king was amongst those who were killed at Phuket island.

[Whaleboy]

Hehe phuket

[The Mad Monk]

Originally posted by VJ

Good. Perhaps that'll teach the idiots that they have to build proper housing before starting a civil war over trivial differences regarding their religions.

Yeah right, who am I kidding...

First, you're a twit.

Second, it's one thing to build earthquake resistant housing; it's quite another building houses that can withstand the punch of several dozen metric tons of water hitting on one side, all at once, and at high speed.

Actually, I'd say it would be impossible for anything short of steel reinforced concrete.

Even if we're just discussing the swell, there's the whole matter of being caught inside a house that's now underwater.

The real problem, according to at least one report, is that tsunamis rarely hit these areas, so nobody told these people how to identify an approaching tsunami (unusual and rapid tide changes, etc), and what do when one is approaching (RUN INLAND!!!).

[Whaleboy]

MM

[Giancarlo]

The reason Sri Lanka was caught so off guard is they haven't had a tsunami in a century or so.. not in the life time of anybody living there. I won't blame the governments of the area because they just didn't have a reason to have a warning system. Bangladesh experienced lighter casualities because they have tsunamis every year and are prepared more or less to tell people where to go, but Sri Lanka was not.

[Chemical Ollie]

So the idiots did not build proper housing?

That's like saying "Why don't the idiots eat properly?" about people who are starving.

[Giancarlo]

For one time I think I agree with you..

[alva]

Just got off the phone with a friend of mine who's usually there at this of year, luckily not this time 'round.

Originally posted by VJ

Good. Perhaps that'll teach the idiots that they have to build proper housing before starting a civil war over trivial differences regarding their religions.

Yeah right, who am I kidding...

You mean like the rich French not having enough airco's last year to stop hundreds of older people stopping from dropping dead? No one can forsee everything.

I don't have a lifeboat either seeing as I live in the third floor, according to you, I should.

[GePap]

Personally, I think if the Quake had occured on dry land less people would have been killed- I think Tsunamis are probably deadlier than just a quake on land, unless it hits right under a vast metropolis.

The way this is going, 30,000 plus is likely.

Sadly, this would not even put it in the top 5 killer earthquakes of the last 100 years.

[lord of the mark]

[Sirotnikov]

There are quite alot of Israeli hikers there (even though its not a terribly safe area for them), who go there to "clean head" after service in the IDF.


IDF search and rescue forces, and a large group of physicians are soon to deport to several of the hit sites.

I fear that bad diplomatic relations with some of the muslim countries can prevent our (rather good and well trained) forces from going places.

[Locutus]

For people wondering about tsumanis on mid-ocean (Dissident et al):

Tsunami: (tsoonä´mç), series of catastrophic ocean waves generated by submarine movements, which are caused by earthquakes , volcanic eruptions, or landslides beneath the ocean. In the open ocean, tsunamis may have wavelengths of up to several hundred miles and travel at speeds up to 450 mi per hr (720 km per hr), yet have wave heights of less than 3 ft (1 m), which pass unnoticed beneath a ship at sea. The period between crests of tsunami waves varies from 5 min to about 1 hr. When tsunami approach shallow water along a coast, they are slowed, causing their length to shorten and their height to rise sometimes as high as 100 ft (30 m). When they break, they often destroy piers, buildings, and beaches and take human life. The wave height as they crash upon a shore depends almost entirely upon the submarine topography offshore. Waves tend to rise to greater heights along gently sloping shores, along submarine ridges, or in coastal embayments. There is little warning of approach; when a train of tsunami waves approaches a coastline, the first indication is often a sharp swell, not unlike an ordinary storm swell, followed by a sudden outrush of water that often exposes offshore areas as the first wave trough reaches the coast. After several minutes, the first huge wave crest strikes, inundating the newly exposed beach and rushing inland to flood the coast. Generally, the third to eighth wave crests are the largest. Since tsunami principally occur in the Pacific Ocean following shallow-focus earthquakes over magnitude 6.5 on the Richter scale , one of the best means of prediction is the detection of such earthquakes on the ocean floor with a seismograph network (see seismology ). Tsunamis may be detected by wave gauges, such as those emplaced as part of the Tsunami Warning System operating in the Pacific regions. Measurement of sudden sea level changes from satellites are also used to warn of potential tsunami. Probably the most destructive tsunami occurred following the explosive eruption of the volcano Krakatoa in the East Indies on Aug. 27, 1883, when over 36,000 people were killed as a result of the wave. Waves were up to 100 ft (30 m) high with speeds between 350 and 450 mi per hr (560-720 km per hr). Its passage was traced as far away as Panama.

Source: www.encyclopedia.com


I wouldn't put too much fate in casualty figures just yet. In the first days after 911 some of the casualty figures reached up to 100,000(!). It's such a big chaos up there it's hard to get any reliable numbers, I think it'll be at least a week before we start hearing somewhat reliable and accurate numbers. Usually in these kinds of catastrophes the final number ends up being much lower than the ones initially reported. Let's hope that's true in this case as well (although it's quite obvious that the number will be very, very high )

[GePap]

http://www.nytimes.com/2004/12/27/international/asia/27CND_quake.html?hp&ex=1104210000&en=ac591f638d2967ad&ei=5094&partner=homepage

There is an interactive feature to the side, has a very interesting animation of the wave dynamics, very informative.

Seems the Quake affected an area 600 miles long, and that there was a 7.3 sacel tremor just south of Chittagong in Myanmar associated with this quake.

[lord of the mark]

help starts.

[lord of the mark]

Originally posted by Sirotnikov
There are quite alot of Israeli hikers there (even though its not a terribly safe area for them), who go there to "clean head" after service in the IDF.


IDF search and rescue forces, and a large group of physicians are soon to deport to several of the hit sites.

I fear that bad diplomatic relations with some of the muslim countries can prevent our (rather good and well trained) forces from going places.

Sri Lanka is hardest hit, and they are going there.