Sir Arthur C Clarke is indeed alive and well

[Maple]

12.27.04

From Sir Arthur regarding the recent tsunamis in South and Southeast Asia:

Thank you for your concern about my safety in the wake of Sunday's devastating tidal wave.

I am enormously relieved that my family and household have escaped the ravages of the sea that suddenly invaded most parts of coastal Sri Lanka, leaving a trail of destruction.

But many others were not so fortunate. For hundreds of thousands of Sri Lankans and an unknown number of foreign tourists, the day after Christmas turned out to be a living nightmare reminiscent of The Day After Tomorrow.

Among those affected are my staff based at our diving station in Hikkaduwa and holiday bungalow in Kahawa - both beachfront properties located in areas worst hit. We still don't know the full extent of damage as both roads and phones have been damaged. Early reports indicate that we have lost most of our diving equipment and boats. Not all our staff members are accounted for - yet.

This is indeed a disaster of unprecedented magnitude for Sri Lanka which lacks the resources and capacity to cope with the aftermath. We are all trying to contribute to the relief efforts. We shall keep you informed as we learn more about what happened.

Curiously enough, in my first book on Sri Lanka, I had written about another tidal wave reaching the Galle harbour (see Chapter 8 in The Reefs of Taprobane, 1957). That happened in August 1883, following the eruption of Krakatoa in roughly the same part of the Indian Ocean.



Arthur Clarke
27 December 2004

http://www.clarkefoundation.org/

[tuvor]

1. Jeez, I thought he died years ago. n/t

[Maple]

2. I just read

his latest book. :D

[tuvor]

3. I'm tempted to ask

if a ghost writer was involved.

[Maple]

4. Well he's only

88 after all.

[JVS]

5. Is the rumor about the reason behind his choice to live in Sri Lanka true?

[Maple]

6. He went there

because it was warm and peaceful, and he'd be able to write.

Then of course the Tamil uprising began, and now this.

If you're asking about the malicious rumors...no, that's all they were.

[jus_the_facts]

7. I saw an interview with him years ago where he stated.....

...he moved there for the diving off the coast...glad he made it out of the disaster alive as I'm a fan of his writing...reminds me of his novel...RICHTER 10...an earthquake on the New Madrid faultline! :scared:

[Maple]

9. yes, he was very much

into diving and such, but unfortunately was confined to a wheelchair in 1988 due to post polio syndrome.

Clarke's Third Law

"Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic."

[jus_the_facts]

8. oops double post...

:hi: