Biggest earthquake in 40 years hits Southeast Asia - Part 2

[Mercator]

I talked to my sister about it yesterday (she's Swedish). She had her honeymoon in Phuket in 2003. She's also been through Banda Aceh several years before, visiting an island off the coast there. That island probably doesn't even exist anymore now.

She wasn't aware Thailand was so big as a holiday destination though, and luckily she doesn't know anybody.

[chequita guevara]

A woman they talked to on NPR today lost fifty relatives in Aceh, almost her brother-in-law's entire family.

[Urban Ranger]

Originally posted by Kamrat X
Various benefits on swedish television has managed to scrape together over 330 million kronor (approx 50 million $)!!!

Nice

[The diplomat]

With all our fancy technology, humanity is still rather powerless against the forces of nature. Natural disasters like this one should keep us humble, remind us of how precious each life is and remind us of the importance of community.

[Chemical Ollie]

1700 people have today been removed from the official number of 2915 missing Swedes reported last night. But other names have been added.

827 Swedes are missing by the definition that their family say they saw them die, but have no corpses that have been identified. An additional 1459 are missing by the definition "fate unknown", making the total number 2286.

In Finland and Denmark, a lot of the missing people have been found after that their names have been published in the papers. The Swedish foreign department do not publish the list of missing people. One of the reasons is that the homes of some missing people who were published in the news have been looted by burglars.

[Gangerolf]

One of the reasons is that the homes of some missing people who were published in the news have been looted by burglars.

People like that should be shot

When the list of missing Norwegians was published this morning, the number was 279. Right now it's down to 150.

[Rasbelin]

Just noticed that the official list of persons reported as missing in Asia contains eight Finnish nationals living in Sweden.

Recent news states that the Norwegian parliament, Stortinget, would be asked by the government to approve a further 1 billion (ie. 121 million Euros). Already 100 million NOK has been approved.

Official response to some of the criticism regarding problems with information and how it was responded to:

In Finland and other Nordic countries, the authorities have been criticised for being slow to provide information. In the assessment of Kalle Löövi, Head of International Aid at the Finnish Red Cross, collapse of data communications links, e.g. in Thailand and Sri Lanka slowed down relief operations by about 24 hours compared against the ideal situation. Use of short text messages in place of telephone calls would be one way of relieving pressure on the network.

Foreign Minister Tuomioja emphasised that once information about the extent of the catastrophe had reached Finnish authorities, operations were begun without cause for reproach. I don’t think that any other country acted faster, Tuomioja said.

The official list on the site of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, listing Finnish nationals reported missing after the quake in Asia:

suomeksi (katso linkki "Kaakkois-Aasian luonnononnettomuudessa kadonneet henkilöt")
på svenska (se länken "Saknade personer efter katastrofen i Sydostasien")

[lightblue]

In the UK it's40 confirmed indentified dead, 159 more presumed dead, so it's dropping slightly. Luxembourg has been cut down a lot to just 3 missing, no fatalities.

It seems the Uk has gotten off quite lightly compared to a lot of other European countries, I guess a lot of UK people that'd go to somewhere warm in the winter will more likely go to commonwealth islands in the carribean.

[The Mad Monk]

Powell announced today that five thousand Americans are "unaccounted for":

Up to 5,000 Americans unaccounted for in tsunami disaster: Powell
ADVERTISEMENT

AFP Photo

As many as 5,000 Americans are still unaccounted for a week after the world's deadliest tsunami pounded a dozen countries across the Indian Ocean, US Secretary of State Colin Powell said.

Powell told reporters aboard his plane en route to Bangkok that the confirmed toll of Americans still stood at 15 with a defense department worker listed as missing.

"The number of private citizens or citizens unaccounted for still lingers around 4-5,000," he said, adding the figure was based on phone calls from relatives or friends inquiring about their whereabouts.

Powell said this did not mean they were necessarily casualties in the catastrophe.

But he added: "We can't ignore the very distinct possibility that there are Americans within this number who have lost their lives. We just don't know that."

http://sg.news.yahoo.com/050103/1/3pmin.html

[Dr Strangelove]

Do tsunamis ever occur in the North or South Atlantic Ocean areas? I've never heard of one occurring there.

[Drake Tungsten]

The 1755 Lisbon earthquake took place on November 1, 1755 at 9:20 in the morning. It was one of the most destructive and deadly earthquakes in history, killing over 100,000 people. The quake was followed by a tsunami and fire, resulting in the near total destruction of Lisbon.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1755_Lisbon_earthquake

[Dr Strangelove]

Originally posted by Drake Tungsten

The 1755 Lisbon earthquake took place on November 1, 1755 at 9:20 in the morning. It was one of the most destructive and deadly earthquakes in history, killing over 100,000 people. The quake was followed by a tsunami and fire, resulting in the near total destruction of Lisbon.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1755_Lisbon_earthquake

I didn't realize that the great quake of Lisbon was accompanied by a tsunami. Writers of that day and age spoke of the great dipair that swept Europe after that event. Many turned away from religion, questioning whether a loving God could allow such a thing to happen. Some believe that it was the beginning of the end of the old order, since European monarchy relied upon the belief that some men were ordained by God to rule. If there was no God, then Kings were not ordained by God, but instead mere imposters.

[chequita guevara]

Originally posted by Dr Strangelove
Do tsunamis ever occur in the North or South Atlantic Ocean areas? I've never heard of one occurring there.

It does happen, but much more rarely.

[Dis]

I hate to say this, but in the case of the high american missing person count, I believe a significant number of those are probably looking to scam insurance companies.

It happened in 9/11, no reason to not expect it here.

americans are greedy.

[Chemical Ollie]

Some reasons to smile in all the misery:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/4144405.stm

An Indian helicopter dropping food and water over the remote Andaman and Nicobar Islands has been attacked by tribesmen using bows and arrows.
There were fears that the endangered tribal groups had been wiped out when massive waves struck their islands.

But the authorities say the attack is a sign that they have survived.

More than 6,000 people there are confirmed as either dead or missing, but thousands of others are still unaccounted for.

The Indian coastguard helicopter was flying low over Sentinel Island to drop aid when it came under attack.

Dozens of tribesmen fired bows and arrows at the helicopter, a traditional warning that outsiders aren't welcome.

A senior police officer said the crew weren't hurt and the authorities are taking it as a sign that the tribes haven't been wiped out by the earthquake and sea surges as many had feared.

The Andaman and Nicobar archipelago is home to several primitive tribes, some so isolated that they are still stuck in the stone age.

Officials believe they survived the devastation by using age-old early warning systems.

They might have run to high ground for safety after noticing changes in the behaviour of birds and marine wildlife.

Scientists are examining the possibility to see whether it can be used to predict earth tremors in future.