Asian News Service now estimates more than 55,000 dead

[DB-Freak]

The question is why it happens not how it happens.

There

for the people who dont wanna read alec's long winded post.

[Bronco Yoda]

CNN just announced that there are more warnings due to aftershocks.

[PatsWin2002]

Tsunami death toll tops 116,000

BANDA ACEH, Indonesia (CNN) -- The death toll from Sunday's tsunamis has jumped sharply to over 116,000 after Indonesia reported nearly 80,000 people were killed in that country alone.

http://www.cnn.com/2004/WORLD/asiapc...ake/index.html

[Old Dude]

Horrible.

[Rock Chalk]

Originally Posted by PatsWin2002

Tsunami death toll tops 116,000

BANDA ACEH, Indonesia (CNN) -- The death toll from Sunday's tsunamis has jumped sharply to over 116,000 after Indonesia reported nearly 80,000 people were killed in that country alone.

http://www.cnn.com/2004/WORLD/asiapc...ake/index.html

I knew it would get ridiculously high and I can promise you its no where even close to being over.

How many bodies were washed out to sea?

We will never know.

[Billy Clyde Puckett]

Not a word of that I have heard on the mainstream, anti business newswires - just the stuff about the US Goverment being stingy and all corporations being evil and oppressive.

http://www.thestreet.com/_yahoo/mark...FREE&cm_ite=NA

Private Sector Tsunami Aid Grows By Matthew Goldstein Senior Writer 12/30/2004 11:43 AM EST The list of U.S. companies donating money, medical supplies and other services to the victims of the Asian earthquake and tsunami is growing quickly. The corporate relief effort is badly needed, with the death toll from the killer waves recently surpassing 110,000, according to the Associated Press. In coming weeks, health officials fear, tens of thousands more people are at critical risk from disease borne by unsanitary conditions. Beyond the threat of deadly illness, the monster 9.0 earthquake and ensuing tsunami left millions of people homeless in several countries, including Indonesia, Sri Lanka, India and Thailand. The devastation has created a crying need for everything from clean water to heavy equipment to clear debris and bury the dead. If you're interested in making your own donation, a superb online starting point is the "Network for Good" site that was set up in 2001 by America Online, Cisco Systems (CSCO:Nasdaq - commentary - research) and Yahoo! (YHOO:Nasdaq - commentary - research). To date, one of the biggest corporate donations is a $35 million pledge from Pfizer (PFE:NYSE - commentary - research). The world's biggest drugmaker is contributing both cash and medications to the relief effort. The Pfizer donation matches the $35 million initial contribution the U.S. government is sending to the affected nations. Other pharmaceutical companies also are big contributors of cash and medicine to the stricken nations. Johnson & Johnson (JNJ:NYSE - commentary - research) is donating $2 million. Abbott Laboratories (ABT:NYSE - commentary - research) is contributing medical supplies valued at $2 million. Beleaguered Merck (MRK:NYSE - commentary - research) is donating $250,000. Several big banks also are stepping up to the plate. Citigroup (C:NYSE - commentary - research) is contributing $3 million to the relief effort. The world's biggest financial services firm also will match employee donations to organizations providing disaster relief. J.P. Morgan Chase (JPM:NYSE

[bronco militia]

OMG!


Indonesia Needs Help, Death Toll Expected To Exceed 400,000
Thu Dec 30 2004 12:52:01 ET

KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 30 (Bernama) -- The death toll in Acheh, the region worst hit by last Sunday's tsunami, may exceed 400,000 as many affected areas could still not be reached for search and rescue operations, Indonesia's Ambassador to Malaysia Drs H. Rusdihardjo said Thursday.

He said the estimate was based on air surveillance by Indonesian authorities who found no signs of life in places like Meulaboh, Pulau Simeulue and Tapak Tuan while several islands off the west coast of Sumatera had "disappeared".

He said the latest death toll of more than 40,000 in Acheh and northern Sumatera did not take into account the figures from the other areas, especially in the west of the region.

"Aerial surveillance found the town of Meulaboh completely destroyed with only one buiding standing. The building, which belonged to the military, happens to be on a hill," he told reporters after receiving RM1 million in aid for Indonesia's Tsunami Disaster Relief Fund here Thursday.

Rusdihardjo said there were about 150,000 residents in Meulaboh, which was located 150km from the epicentre of the earthquake while Pulau Simeuleu had a population of 76,000.

Ambassador Rusdihardjo said a combination of earthquake and tsunami had left 80 to 100 per cent of infrastructure in Acheh province, such as hospitals, health centres, transport and communication networks and homes, destroyed.

"Looking at the scale of destruction, it's difficult to say when the search and rescue operations can be mounted in all affected areas," he said.

He said rescue efforts were hampered by transportation difficulties and lack of fuel.

Rusdihardjo said that at this time international help, especially in the form of medicines, clean water, food and clothing, were desperately needed by Indonesia to aid survivors in Acheh.

"Now we are worried about the outbreak of diseases such as cholera, the work of disposing corpses and the absence of clean water following the contamination of water sources," he said.

It would take years before the situation returned to normal, he said, adding that the Indonesian government was not able to estimate losses caused by the tragedy as yet.

He expressed his gratitude to Malaysia's help although the country itself was hit with 66 lives lost so far and property to the tune of millions of ringgit destroyed.

"We are deeply touched," he said.

Rusdihardjo said Indonesia was also seeking Malaysia's cooperation to mount search and rescue operations from its shores because of the close proximity of the two countries.

-- BERNAMA

Developing...

[PatsWin2002]

Originally Posted by AlecRaenos

I knew it would get ridiculously high and I can promise you its no where even close to being over.

How many bodies were washed out to sea?

We will never know.

I agree. Some of those places are so remote and tribal that there will never be an accurate count anyway.

I know it's ghoulish to watch this number to go up like I'm watching an election return, but this is fascinating stuff. What a tragedy.

I downloaded a few of the tsunami vids off the net (like 5Mb - 10Mb) and there is some decent footage, but nothing indicating what the actual results were. It's just hard to picture that same thing or worse for thousands of miles of coastline.

We lost over 3,000 people on 9/11 and this is so many times greater than that I can't even comprehend it.

[Rock Chalk]

Originally Posted by Old Dude

Horrible.

For some reason this thread isn't loading right for me.

[Hercules Rockefeller]

Indonesia's Ambassador to Malaysia said today that the death toll might exceed 400,000 in Indonesia alone.

[Rock Chalk]

Something about this whole thing sounds odd to me.

Granted, this is a tragedy and we should help regardless of who it is.

But I find it curious that the most populated Muslim nation in the world is not afraid of asking for our help now.

By all means, help them, this goes beyond any political or religious differences, but for being the big evil empire that we are, when there is trouble who is the first place everyone looks to? The good ole U.S.A. Sure we are rich, but we are under no obligation to help anyone but ourselves right? I mean, as far as evilness and vileness and hatred and contempt for the rest of the world, if you believe the media, we shouldnt be helping anyone right?

But no, thats not the way it works.

Because this is not the evil empire and we are not an evil nation. We give help to anyone and everyone who needs it and asks for it. A policy we have maintained for many decades now and a policy I am firmly behind. Not only our government, the big bad evil government, but our big bad evil corporations are pledging their assistance as well.

The most ironic thing of all is that in 6 months, when it is no longer headline news, everything goes back to normal and the USA gets to be the big bad evil nation again.

[PatsWin2002]

Originally Posted by AlecRaenos

For some reason this thread isn't loading right for me.

Me either.

There's a JavaScript error....I think because of the Ad in Big Guy's post. The footer of the page never comes up after that.

[Rock Chalk]

I put Big Guy on ignore (just because of that post, not for anything he said or did) and it loaded right after that.

[alkemical]

Experts: Tsunami Kills Few Animals

Wed Dec 29, 6:18 AM ET

By GEMUNU AMARASINGHE, Associated Press Writer

YALA NATIONAL PARK, Sri Lanka - Wildlife officials in Sri Lanka expressed surprise Wednesday that they found no evidence of large-scale animal deaths from the weekend's massive tsunami — indicating that animals may have sensed the wave coming and fled to higher ground.




An Associated Press photographer who flew over Sri Lanka's Yala National Park in an air force helicopter saw abundant wildlife, including elephants, buffalo, deer, and not a single animal corpse.


Floodwaters from the tsunami swept into the park, uprooting trees and toppling cars onto their roofs — one red car even ended up on top of a huge tree — but the animals apparently were not harmed and may have sought out high ground, said Gehan de Silva Wijeyeratne, whose Jetwing Eco Holidays ran a hotel in the park.


"This is very interesting. I am finding bodies of humans, but I have yet to see a dead animal," said Wijeyeratne, whose hotel in the park was totally destroyed in Sunday's tidal surge.


"Maybe what we think is true, that animals have a sixth sense," Wijeyeratne said.


Yala, Sri Lanka's largest wildlife reserve, is home to 200 Asian Elephants, crocodile, wild boar, water buffalo and gray langur monkeys. The park also has Asia's highest concentration of leopards. The Yala reserve covers an area of 391 square miles, but only 56 square miles are open to tourists.


The human death toll in Sri Lanka surpassed 21,000. Forty foreigners were among 200 people in Yala who were killed.