Aceh tsunami toll alone could be 80,000 - hundreds of Aussies missing.

[rooboy]

The counting hasn't stopped yet on this. There are 10 confirmed Australian deaths, but authorities are yet to locate 800 Australians who were known to be in the tsunami regions at the time. Govt officials said we need to prepare ourselves for an Australian death toll in the hundreds, which means the really bad news hasn't even started yet.

[aquart]

1. I'm so sorry.

And, yeah, it's going to get worse.

I noticed that the BBC was encouraging people to post their experiences, and some were using the listing to contact missing family and friends.

[mikh]

2. Families and friends...

...who have loved ones in the area must be going through hell.
My son and his girlfriend were diving in Nth. Thailand (the Similian Islands) and had been holidaying there one month after a 9 month contract in Dublin. They left on the 21st, and are mortified and devasted for the gracious, generous and hospitable people of the area.
We can only thank God that they arrived here in NZ safe and well, but wish to share in any assistance that we can offer...

[izzie]

3. I grew up on the water front and it can be scary.

So much power in water. I recall reading about the Alaska EQ and how people in the Northern US main land went to the coast to see the 'wave' and more died there than in Alaska. Alaska was lucky as their are not many people. Why did the wave seem to go away from Aust.?

[rooboy]

4. Indonesia gets in the way of Australia...

Indonesia is a collection of about 3000 islands, so there's not much of a clear path for the tsunami, although some wave effects were felt on the Western Australian coast.