Asian earthquake

[acliff]

Who could have thought a disaster such as this could happen without even the smallest warning? With all of our technologies, how could we be so powerless to stop the deaths of 110 thousand people (and counting)? Nature at its most shocking and unforgiving.

The death tolls continue to rise, with 10s of thousands still missing.
As the days go past, an even more shocking figure from the WHO (world health organisation) states that up to 5 million people are at risk from lack of shelter, hunger, disease, and death. Partially due to the inability of the aid workers to help due to transport, and lack of funding.

Please donate towards the cause.
http://pages.ebay.com/tsunamirelief/index.html

Your opinions, thoughts and discussions on this tragedy please.

It's someone else's problem?

[duckula]

Isn't it always?

[frodo1511]

Well, it did come as a shock to me, mainly because that part of the world isn't prone to earthquakes(according to CNN). Makes me upset that, even though the location was remote, there wasn't any sort of warning system their. Hell, a bell or whistle would suffice.

If this scares you, theirs something worse: Mega tsunami.
Off the coast of the Canary Islands on the west side of Africa lies an island, with the western edge ready to fall off. If it does, a tsunami unlike anything ever seen will be formed. It'll travel 600MPH for starters, and, if it holds together, could submerge the entire eastern seaboard of America, not to mention engulf the Caribbean and Brazil. Scary shit.

[acliff]

Originally Posted by Melvin

It's someone else's problem?

...
What do you mean by that?

[MeggieHoops]

I got a ridiculous amount of cash for Christmas that I don't even need, so I'm going to donate most of it to the Red Cross. I think the whole thing is just awful...esp. the way the numbers of deaths just keep rising and don't seem like they'll be stopping any time soon. It makes me really sad.

[Renegade]

My friend, who has close ties to a city in Thailand, told me that the city (forgot the name) had a population of 150 people. After the tsunami, the body count in the area was around 300.

Sad. My prayers go out to the victims and their families.

[Narg]

For some reason i dont feel sad, or anything for these people, i never feel sad for people i dont know, and i dont know why. Perhaps im just a heartless bastard.

[acliff]

Originally Posted by Narg

For some reason i dont feel sad, or anything for these people, i never feel sad for people i dont know, and i dont know why. Perhaps im just a heartless bastard.

I'm sure they appreciate your honesty.

[deviljet88]

It was all Tasmania's fault. The mini earthquake that was there apparently triggered the Asian one, which I'm guessing is on the opposite side of the tectonic plate they're located on.

[Louie]

I just don't get how there was never any kind of warning..........

[deviljet88]

They knew it was going to be in that area, but they didn't know when. Also they don't have signal bases in the Indian Ocean as they do in the Pacific. They're trying to rally the governments in the area to reconsider putting a base in the Indian Ocean. Seems a worthy investment in my view.

[JackYang]

I wish a could donate. Unfortunately, I'm broke. :err:

[Mags]

Originally Posted by Louie

I just don't get how there was never any kind of warning..........

Jet's right. You can generally know the area in which an earthquake might soon occur...there are sort of warning signs, but it's impossible at this point to predict when they will happen or how strong they will be.

The biggest reason there was no warning is that there isn't the same kind of governmental infrastructure there. Even if there had been ample warning (in Sri Lanka, I believe it took about 2 hours for the waves to get there after the quake), there aren't the facilities to streamline that kind of evacuation. And even with an infrastructure it would be insanely hard to evacuate that many people in 2 hours. Imagine if you had two hours warning of a huge wave coming towards...Florida say. Could you evacuate that many people in an organized way in that little space of time? Probably not.

I'll be making a donation as soon as I get paid again. This whole thing is awful. I may feel a little detached from the events, but I don't think it doesn't affect me. In my geology class this semester, we talked about things like this, and the possibility of tsunamis coming after a huge seismic event like an earthquake. My professor said the worst case scenario was an earthquake near the islands of Japan because it could start huge waves toward North and Sout Korea and China which are also very densely populated along the coasts. An earthquake in Japan could trigger waves that would even hit the West coast of the US. Just because it didn't happen to me personally this time doesn't mean I would be so lucky the next time.

[Leonie]

Originally Posted by Louie

I just don't get how there was never any kind of warning..........

I don't get how the government of Thailand could be such heartless bastards. Meteorologists there knew odds were the quake triggered a tsunami, and yet the government kept quiet because 'if it were false alarm, it would affect the tourist industry'. Like somehow thousands of tourists dying doesn't. I don't understand who the hell they think they are, deciding to keep information that could have saved thousands and thousands of lives to themselves. Though Mags is right - not all people would have been able to get away in time due to the crappy infrastructure regardless of a warning in advance, a warning could have saved at least a couple of thousand people.

I am shocked - not only by the disaster itself, but by the heartlessness of people as well. Bastards. Same goes for cab drivers there doubling their prices now, supermarkets doing the same... Wtf is wrong with these people?

Will donate as soon as I get my salary on Monday.

[PhoeniX]

How far would £10 go to help them?

[Sarah]

Originally Posted by Bellum_851

How far would £10 go to help them?

Apparently, 10 pounds would provide 100 hot meals.. so its worth it.

I've donated 30 pounds... thats all I have...

I'm sorry Acliff, I didn't really mean anything by it, I was actually just trying to diffuse the clearly emotionally charged nature of this terrible tragedy.

I actually donated £20 this morning, unfortunately that's all I can afford but every little helps I suppose. I got a fair amount of money during Christmas but unfortunately I "need" a lot of it. I know I probably don't "need" it as much as the victims of this catastrophe, so maybe I'm being heartless, but I'm honest enough to admit I could donate more if I didn't "need" it.

Speaking of which I don't think you're heartless Narg, at least you're being honest about your feelings. I personally feel horrible after seeing the images of the devastation, especially considering my mother and sister were planning to go to India and Sri Lanka in the New Year and could well have, had it been a little later, been...I don't even want to think about it.

I'm sorry if my words offended people, I honestly didn't mean any offence, I was just trying to lift my own mood because this is such a sad event. I personally can hardly look at the news footage as it's just so shocking, I have to turn away.

[duckula]

Well I have £13 in my bank account so I guess £13 it is.

[ryan]

my friend had left taiwan and thailand 29 hours before the earthquake/tsunami happened. he was staying not 200 yards from the beach. if he was there just another day or so, he'd be dead. i'm glad he left when he did.