Asian Death Toll Rises to 40, 000

[Florida_Geek]

sorry for the additional thread but the new number is very upsetting.

http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/international/AP-Quake-Tidal-Wave.html?oref=login


Asian Death Toll Rises to 40, 000
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

Published: December 28, 2004

Filed at 6:38 a.m. ET

BANDA ACEH, Indonesia (AP) -- The death toll from the epic tidal waves that rocked 11 countries rose to 40,000 people on Tuesday after Sri Lanka and Indonesia significantly increased their confirmed deaths.

Medical supplies, food aid and water purification systems poured into the region, part of what the U.N. said would be the biggest relief effort the world has ever seen. Millions remained homeless.

..more at AP

[allemand]

1. And this is still a very conservative number.

:cry:

[hatrack]

21. Has anyone noticed that Burma has not said a thing?

Given the length of their coastline, and the number of people living on the ocean just north of the Thai border, it had to have been bad.

But, not surprisingly, we're not hearing squat from the military dictatorship that runs the place.

[jmcgowanjm]

23. or Bangladesh, or the Andaman/Nicobar Islands

And the UN stated somewhere that this is the
worst catastrophe in history.

250.000 will be conservative.

And what happened to Diego Garcia?

http://dg21.net/where_in_the_world_is_diego_garcia.htm

[allemand]

26. In fact, there were reports yesterday about 30,000 people missing

on the Andaman and Nicobar Islands.

[jmcgowanjm]

29. thank you, allemand, for the update

So the missing are not classified as
dead?

[Oversea Visitor]

32. Yup

:( and missing are confirmed missing however lots of places has not reported in. Seriously dont know what is the finally figures like.
60,000 is conservative

[jmcgowanjm]

35. Terima kasih, Oversea Visitor n/t

[htuttle]

27. Good question about Diego Garcia

Kind of surprised I haven't heard a thing about it. Lots of US/UK military personnel there. There is a massive US/UK military airport on much of the island.

Or at least there used to be last week....

:shrug:


on edit: Found one thing about Diego Garcia. Very short. About all it says is that the US military base is fine:

http://www.abc.net.au/news/newsitems/200412/s1273118.htm

[jmcgowanjm]

30. I saw that as well-US base was "apparently" safe.

But then check the Seychelles-

Beaches that were closed on Sunday reopened,
amid government warnings to tourists to take
precautions.

There was also damage in the Seychelles where a
bridge linking the main airport and capital Victoria was
destroyed while a village in northern Mauritius was s
ubmerged for almost three hours following the
surges.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/4126513.stm

[Oreegone]

36. Andaman Islands

There are tons of articles on the Andaman Islands. Been looking at them for days, because a friends daughter was missing there. The Point Blair airport has been repaired and there are many survivors on those northern islands. Our friend just got a call from the state department and her daughter is with 200 other tourists on Havlock island in a resort, safe. Food and water being flown in, visitors out. The majority of damage occured in the southern islands that are flat, many are underwater still. That is where the aboriginal people lived.

http://news.independent.co.uk/world/asia/story.jsp?story=596492

[allemand]

25. That's what bad governance is all about...

Burma tight-lipped on damage
Danny Buttler
29dec04

FEARS are growing that Burma's secretive military regime may be hiding the tsunami's true impact.

http://www.heraldsun.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,5478,11801065%255E663,00.html

Nevertheless, the first reports are coming in:

Burma tsunami toll at 90
From correspondents in Rangoon
December 29, 2004

THE death toll in Burma from tsunamis unleashed by a massive Asian earthquake had risen to 90 and was expected to increase further, the UN said today.

"UNICEF has been informed by reliable sources that there have been at least 90 deaths due to tsunamis," the UN children's agency said in a statement from Rangoon.

"The government has also reported that 17 coastal villages were destroyed," it said, adding that authorities have privately acknowledged that the casualty figure would likely rise.

http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,5744,11803108%255E1702,00.html

[Squatch]

2. Holy crap.

[Nikepallas]

3. I am very sorry for the lost of life but I can't help but be reminded

what a friend of mine said one time: "Earth can harm itself more than what man believes he could possibly do it". My friend always believed the earth goes though cycles where it creates such destruction on itself.

[lebkuchen]

22. volcanic eruptions help fertilize land

especially in areas that receive a lot of rainfall, bleaching the soil of nutrients.

The trick is to stay out of the path of destruction.

[Oversea Visitor]

4. Yes

Countries that really need help Sri Lanka and Indonesia
Indonesia is bad very bad dead figures still climbing
Lots of small settlements on the coast of Sumatra still not accounted for.

I live in Malaysia, got hit but its nothing nothing compare to those 2 countries

We sending aid to Indonesia now. Our Mercy teams are already in Indonesia.... even rumours of village of 40,000 people totally wipe out in Indonesia. So far only photograph from air need to go right in to these area and its tough

Indonesia got lots of outlying islands as well ..... no news so far on those yet

[MaineDem]

5. I'm glad you're safe

I wondered about the Petronas towers in KL and how I wouldn't have wanted to be there during the quake.

Our thoughts and prayers go out to all who have suffered. This is - for lack of a better word - devastating.

[Oversea Visitor]

9. Well

Its still standing and safe, but I think we should not be building such tall structure. We surrounded by a ring of fires. Problems is the tsunami hit on a sunday in this region and just after christmas.
So news was slow to get out.

[hatrack]

19. NPR reporting status of whole towns/districts in Sumatra unknown

There is no communication, and even the military, deployed for rescue operations, can't get in. Look for big sudden jumps in the death toll in the next few days.

:cry:

[Nomad559]

6. Tidal wave videos

http://www.helicon.net/nailers/movies/tsunamiphuket.wmv

Streaming Videos

http://a356.v12430.c1243.g.vm.akamaistream.net/7/356/1243/127486753020000000/ak-msnbc.msnbc.com/video/100/n_itndeadlywaves_041227.asf


http://a346.v12430.c1243.g.vm.akamaistream.net/7/346/1243/127486547920000000/ak-msnbc.msnbc.com/video/100/tdy_colt_quake_041227.asf


http://a634.v12430.c1243.g.vm.akamaistream.net/7/634/1243/127486678520000000/ak-msnbc.msnbc.com/video/100/tdy_brady_thailand_041227.asf


http://a426.v12430.c1243.g.vm.akamaistream.net/7/426/1243/127486087960000000/ak-msnbc.msnbc.com/video/100/nn_sabine_quake_041226.asf


http://a488.v12430.c1243.g.vm.akamaistream.net/7/488/1243/127486087160000000/ak-msnbc.msnbc.com/video/100/nn_irvine_quake_041226.asf

[Catchawave]

7. 44,000 now

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&e=1&u=/ap/20041228/ap_on_re_as/quake_tidal_wave

[KinkyDem]

33. 55,000 dead ... and still counting

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/afp/20041228/wl_sthasia_afp/asiaquaketoll_041228141407&e=1

[allemand]

8. Tsunami toll predicted to pass 60,000

By Simon Gardner, Colombo
Misha Schubert, Canberra
December 29, 2004

The death toll from the Indian Ocean tsunami catastrophe was predicted to climb pass 60,000 last night as the worst-hit nations struggled to deal with their dead and survivors, including at least a million people left homeless.

<...>

While the official toll across 11 countries last night stood at more than 30,000, unofficial predictions suggested the final count was likely to rise well above 60,000.

In Indonesia, the official death count in the battered province of Aceh - the closest land mass to the quake - climbed above 7000 last night and could eventually top 25,000, officials warned.

In Sri Lanka, the toll soared above 18,000 and officials said it could eventually reach 25,000.

More:
http://www.theage.com.au/news/World/Tsunami-toll-predicted-to-pass-60000/2004/12/28/1103996552456.html?oneclick=true

[Ms_Mary]

10. It's hard to wrap my mind around the reality of that number of casualties.

[Chico Man]

15. Full stadium (nt)

[Catfight]

12. This is just horrible. n/t

[TexasChick]

11. Man, this is horrible! 40,000 dead? God bless them. n/t

[da_chimperor]

13. Oh my god

. . .

[noshenanigans]

14. Thailand?

Has anyone been able to find some maps on locations of where the waves actually hit? My exboyfriend lives on the coast of Thailand in Koh Samui (a big resort area), and while I'm not a big fan of his I still would like to know if he was in harm's way.

This is absolutely horrible :(

[lebkuchen]

20. I have not heard that island mentioned on CNNI, but

perhaps because it is located in the Gulf of Thailand, it was offered more protection.

CNNI mentioned Ko Phi Phi because it extends a boatride away from Phuket and was inundated (this island has no civilian motor vehicles). It's right in the Indian Ocean. I remember taking a snorkeling/long boat tour beyond the island. The driver sped us around a nearby island, Ko Lanta, and I was frightened because we had no life jackets. Had the boat capsized, the last place one would have swum to was Lanta, because the waves were crashing against the rock walls of the island.

[Oversea Visitor]

31. Koh Samui was hit

:(

[allemand]

16. Official death toll in Asian quake disaster over 55,000; Indonesia: 27,174

JAKARTA (AFP) - The confirmed death toll from the massive earthquake and tidal waves that devastated much of Asia's coastline passed 55,000, with officials warning the figure was likely to rise steeply.

In Indonesia, the government's disaster relief centre said at least 27,174 were killed after the country took the full force of the huge earthquake and tidal waves that swallowed entire coastal villages.

Indonesia's health ministry said at least 27,174 had been killed in the quake as the true scale of the catastrophe becomes clear.

In Sri Lanka more than 17,600 people, including at least 70 foreigners, were killed in Sunday's disaster.

More:
http://www.turkishpress.com/world/news.asp?id=041228142716.ebn7xaiq.xml

[flygal]

17. The pictures are unreal

I can't imagine the amount of suffering going on. They show a lot of European tourists on the CNN but it's in the 10's of thousands for the S. Asians - they are inconsolable.

[Oversea Visitor]

28. Indonesia

Dead figures very very high
Lots of areas not cover yet over in Indonesia.
They got hit bad during the Asian currency crisis in 1997
Follow IMF direction and just when FUBAR
After that massive civil unrest.

They very poor country with a population of over 220 millions.
Now this, ..... :cry:
You can help through Red Cross cause of their sister organisation Red
Crescent....
They dont like US today cause of Bush.... and what he represent..
Most of Malaysian effort be channel there...

Still cant beleive how my country escape with so little damage I am from Malaysia.... a chinese

As of yesterday we raised over 3.4 million to help more public and corporate donation will be pouring in. We can easily raise over 8 million ringgits. Our population is only 24 million.
Dont know yet how much our goverments will be deploying to Indonesia.

[Wilber_Stool]

18. Remember

This is just the immediate dead. The water born diseases haven't even started yet.

[jmcgowanjm]

24. or exposed wounds

many organisms are attracted to
blood in the tropics.

Been there in a really small
way.

[allemand]

34. Wave toll could reach 100,000

From correspondents in Rome
December 29, 2004

THE death toll from the massive tsunamis unleashed by an earthquake in the Indian Ocean could reach more than 100,000, the head of Italy's civil emergency relief services warned today.

"The number of victims is destined to increase over the coming days and I fear that in the end it will be more than 100,000 deaths even if we will never know the exact figure because there is no register of the population in most of the affected countries," Guido Bertolaso, director of the Italian civil protection unit told reporters. <...>

Two days after the massive tidal waves ravaged the coastline of eight Asian countries, the death toll has passed 55,000, with 30,000 people still missing. Most of the victims have been in Indonesia and Sri Lanka.

"From Colombo (Sri Lanka) to Sumatra (Indonesia), there are 8000 kilometres of coast hit by the tidal wave belonging to countries among the most populated in the world, absolutely not prepared to face this type of catastrophe," he added.

http://www.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,4057,11803668%255E1702,00.html

[SoCalDem]

37. I wonder what the Asian press will make of the $40M coronation here

with all the misery and damage they have suffered..

Of course, people here will not see much press coverage of the further "disgruntlement" of the world, over our "excess".

If *² was a decent human being, he would cancel his soiree, and have a barbeque at the WH, and donate the $$$$ to the people who have suffered from the disaster.. But then we all know what a venal man he is:(

[progressivedancer]

38. WOW

This only comes to show that no matter what we do to this Earth, whether destroying its pristine forests or poisoning oceans, we are still at the mercy of Earth's cruel apathy. No matter how powerful we make our weapons to be or how thick we build our walls, we are still ephemeral.

[clem_c_rock]

39. Tip of the iceberg

It will go into the 100's of thousands I fear.

[rocktivity]

40. Thanks for the "update"

I've updated the story on my web site. A member of a Swedish heavy metal band who was spending the holidays in Thailands is unaccounted for.
http://www.rocknation.tv

:(
rocknation

[Behind the Aegis]

41. 55,000 now dead...thousands still missing

This is just ghastly! I looked up my current town's population and this disaster would have wiped away my town 1.5 times!! I try to put things in perspectives I can understand and this is almost incomprehensible! It is so sad. :(

[attitudewins]

42. Sad n/t