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Metropolis Reality Forums Ť Asia quake death toll tops 147,000 ť

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   Asia quake death toll tops 147,000

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Topic: Asia quake death toll tops 147,000 (Read 526 times)

Rhune
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Asia quake death toll tops 147,000
« on: Dec 26^th, 2004, 11:28am »

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Asia quake death toll tops 4,700
Sunday, December 26, 2004 Posted: 12:06 PM EST (1706 GMT)

(CNN) -- Massive tsunamis triggered by the largest earthquake to shake the planet in more than 40 years wiped out coastal areas across Southeast Asia as far as 1,000 miles away, killing more than 4,700 people.

Most of the deaths were in Sri Lanka and India.

The initial quake, measuring 8.9 in magnitude, struck about 100 miles (160 km) off the coast of Indonesia's Sumatra island around 7 a.m. Sunday (0000 GMT), according to the U.S. Geological Survey's National Earthquake Information Center.

It is the fifth largest earthquake in recorded history, according to the NEIC. The measurements have been taken since 1899.

Sri Lankan military authorities are reporting more than 2,400 people killed, most of them in the eastern district of Batticaloa. Several districts in the country's south have still not reported casualty figures, and authorities fear the death toll could rise.

Officials said thousands were missing and more than a half million had been displaced.

The huge waves also swept away a high security prison in Matara, in southern Sri Lanka, allowing 200 prisoners to escape. Eyewitnesses in the eastern Sri Lankan port city Trincomalee reported waves as high as 40 feet (12 meters), hitting inland as far as half a mile (1 km).

Sri Lankan officials imposed a curfew as night fell, and tourists were being evacuated from the eastern coasts to the capital, Colombo, which is on the west coast and was unaffected.

India agreed to assist Sri Lanka, sending two naval ships to the resort town of Galle, in the south, and Trincomalee, according to Colombo officials.

Indian aircraft will bring in relief supplies to the country on Monday.

India itself is reeling from the aftermath of the quake and tsunamis. Indian officials said at least 1,800 Indians were killed as a result of the massive waves. A resident of Chennai (formerly Madras) in Tamil Nadu district -- the hardest hit area -- said he witnessed several people being swept away by a tidal wave.

Along India's southeastern coast, several villages appeared to have been swept away, and thousands of fishermen -- including 2,000 from the Chennai area alone -- who were out at sea when when the massive waves swept across the waters have not returned.

Along the coast, the brick foundations of village homes were all that remained.

Interior Minister Shivraj Patil told CNN 700 people were killed in Tamil Nadu state and 200 in Andhra Pradesh. Poor communications with India's remote Andaman and Nicobar islands, which were closer to the quake's epicenter, has prevented any reports of damage and casualties. Most of the aftershocks have been centered off those islands.

Thai authorities say more than 300 are feared dead, and hundreds are missing. One witness said Phuket's famed Laguna Beach resort area is "completely gone." The area provides 40 percent of Thailand's $10 billion annual tourist income.

Among the missing were a number of scuba divers exploring the Emerald Cave off Phuket's coast.

Phuket's airport -- which closed down when its runways flooded -- reopened, but most roads remained closed, as officials tried to assess the damage, fearing structural damage to buildings closer to the shore.

Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Chinnawat arrived in Phuket and said the situation was "under control." He told CNN he planned to stay the night and direct rescue and relief efforts.

Eyewitnesses reported people drowning in their hotel rooms near the coast as 30-foot waves washed ashore. Others reported narrow escapes -- including one man whose alert but screaming boat driver turned their boat directly into a nearby shore. As he and his passengers scrambled up the steep beach, the waves crushed their boat.

More than 500 people were killed in Indonesia by the quake and the following tsunamis -- many of them in Aceh, in northern Sumatra, about 100 miles from the quake's epicenter, according to local reports.

"We still haven't got any reports from the western coast of Aceh, which is closest to the epicenter, so officials are bracing themselves for a lot more bad news," said journalist John Aglionby in Jakarta.

The earthquake is classified as "great" -- the strongest classification given by the NEIC.

NEIC geophysicist Don Blakeman said all of the tsunamis were triggered by the initial quake. Waverly Person, Blakeman's colleague at NEIC, said the tsunamis are "long over at this point," and residents and visitors should not be concerned with more high water.

One major aftershock, measuring 7.3 in magnitude, struck about 200 miles (300 km) northwest of Banda Aceh -- on Sumatra's northernmost tip -- over four hours after the initial quake, according to the NEIC. The rest of the aftershocks measured under 6.5 in magnitude.

The NEIC expects the quake to produce hundreds of smaller aftershocks, under 4.6 magnitude, and thousands smaller than that.

"A quake of this size has some pretty serious effects," he said.

He explained the quake was the energy released from "a very large rupture in the earth's crust" over 600 miles (1,000 km) long. The rupture created shockwaves that moved the water along at several hundred miles per hour.

It was the strongest earthquake to hit since March 1964, when a 9.2 quake struck near Alaska's Prince William Sound. The strongest recorded earthquake registered 9.5 on May 22, 1960, in Chile.

CNN Correspondents Aneesh Raman in Phuket, Satinder Bindra in Colombo and Suhasini Haidar in Chennai contributed to this report.

« Last Edit: Jan 7^th, 2005, 7:09pm by Rhune »

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Rhune
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Re: Asia quake death toll tops 4,700
« Reply #1 on: Dec 26^th, 2004, 11:31am »

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Sending my good thoughts to the people who were affected by this. I hope they are able to recover ok.

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rcs_mum
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Re: Asia quake death toll tops 4,700
« Reply #2 on: Dec 26^th, 2004, 9:03pm »

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We said a special prayer for all the families in the devastated area at our church service this morning after the minister received a call from a friend living in Sri Lanka. Cry

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Pau
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Re: Asia quake death toll tops 4,700
« Reply #3 on: Dec 26^th, 2004, 10:55pm »

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yeah... this was a very saddening event here in Asia.... fortunately... we are now in Singapore which is safe from the waves... and the Philippines is safe too....

but.. there are too many deaths now about 12000... Sad

well... I hope that the death toll would no longer rise... and the affected areas may get back on their feet soon.... such a sad end of 2004 for them....

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Rhune
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Re: Asia quake death toll tops 4,700
« Reply #4 on: Dec 27^th, 2004, 3:14am »

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Nod, CNN just bumped the death toll up to "over 15,000". Cry

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lakelady
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Re: Asia quake death toll tops 4,700
« Reply #5 on: Dec 27^th, 2004, 3:35am »

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Just read that Rhune. Very sad. Sad

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Pocket
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Re: Asia quake death toll tops 4,700
« Reply #6 on: Dec 27^th, 2004, 9:21am »

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What a disaster! We use that word so lightly, to describe minor problems in our lives. The accounts of survivors are just horrifying. How sad for people who will never be able to find and honor their loved ones with a proper burial. Just unbelievable.

Estimated loss of life now up to 22,000! Cry

« Last Edit: Dec 27^th, 2004, 10:22am by Pocket »

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JP
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Re: Asia quake death toll tops 4,700
« Reply #7 on: Dec 27^th, 2004, 5:18pm »

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I found out about this while I was going to work Monday morning. It is horrible. I heard that Phuket, Thailand, a major tourist destination, was also destroyed by the tsunami. It was shocking to me because I have just seen how beautiful Phuket is when I watched the first season of the Amazing Race...

I pray for my fellow Asians, that they can get through this. Cry

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Rupey
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Re: Asia quake death toll tops 4,700
« Reply #8 on: Dec 28^th, 2004, 10:54am »

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This devastation defies human comprehension. It makes the war in Iraq seem worthless when you consider that the after effects of the tsunami will require billions of dollars of medical aid and human support.

I know not everyone on this board considers themselves "religious" but for those of us who hold closely to the Christian faith, I can't help but think aloud that this type of devastation surely points toward the end of time as predicted in the New Testament.

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lakelady
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Re: Asia quake death toll tops 4,700
« Reply #9 on: Dec 28^th, 2004, 10:58am »

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I know not everyone on this board considers themselves "religious" but for those of us who hold closely to the Christian faith, I can't help but think aloud that this type of devastation surely points toward the end of time as predicted in the New Testament.

My thoughts exactly Rupey. Been thinking alot about that the last couple of days.

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luci
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Re: Asia quake death toll tops 4,700
« Reply #10 on: Dec 28^th, 2004, 11:16am »

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DITTO on all said Cry

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AoM
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Re: Asia quake death toll tops 4,700
« Reply #11 on: Dec 28^th, 2004, 2:13pm »

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The death toll is up to 52,000

I can't even begin to imagine. Not even a little. Cry

Thank you for checking in Pau, i was worried, good to know that you and Jaypee, my friends from the Phillipines are ok!

Just need Jaypee to check in now!

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Addams
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Re: Asia quake death toll tops 4,700
« Reply #12 on: Dec 29^th, 2004, 2:34pm »

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and now it has risen to 77,000

entire villages have been destroyed and are only now being found in remote regions of sumatra

The plates of the earth shifted and literally altered the angle of the earch on its axis by 1 inch! and has affected the lenght of day by milliseconds.

My sister used to visit Phuket for Christmas and also Langkawi. She lived in Penang for three years and said that she could have watched the Tsunami from her balcony if she was still there.

here's part of an email I received from my sister

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Go to www.pbase.com/issels/ and you will see two pictures. If you click on the first picture, you will see a series of photos of our resort being hit by the tsunami. If you click on the second picture you will see a series of pictures of our resort after the tsunami. Had we been there, at the time the tsunami struck, the kids and I would have been eating breakfast in the area where you see the pool table . Glad we weren't there! Looks like the lagoon saved the wing where our room was located. Also, we were on the 2nd or 3rd floor. You can tell by the pics that only a portion of the hotel was damaged. Bye for now.

(my sister was not there this year, this was where she visited 3 or 4 Christmases ago when she and her husband and children visited Phuket for their vacation. She has been there on vacation three times and also she lived in Penang, Malaysia for three years. It has been very upsetting for her and for myself since my husband and I honeymooned in Penang)

« Last Edit: Dec 29^th, 2004, 2:36pm by Addams »

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Rhune
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Re: Asia quake death toll tops 80,000
« Reply #13 on: Dec 29^th, 2004, 2:46pm »

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Tsunami death toll tops 80,000
Officials just reaching hardest hit areas in Indonesia
Wednesday, December 29, 2004 Posted: 2:04 PM EST (1904 GMT)

BANDA ACEH, Indonesia (CNN) -- The latest death toll from the Asian tsunami has increased to more than 80,000 as relief workers and supplies begin to reach some of the most devastated areas.

That number could top 100,000 by the time all bodies are recovered, the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies said Wednesday.

The dramatic rise of the death toll came after officials were finally able to reach remote regions -- like Indonesia's Aceh province, India's Andaman and Nicobar Islands and the Maldives.

More than half of the total deaths so far were in Indonesia, the nearest land mass to Sunday's undersea earthquake that triggered the deadly waves and flooding in about a dozen countries, from Thailand to East Africa.

The United Nations' Jan Egeland said one in every four people in some parts of Aceh had been killed.

He also said about $220 million in cash donations had been received or pledged so far for the relief effort and "perhaps and equal amount of funds in in-kind donations" such as military and civil defense aid.

Four days after the quake, Indonesian authorities said they had found mass destruction in Aceh. CNN's Mike Chinoy said the capital of Banda Aceh, which was closest to the epicenter of the quake, was largely destroyed.

Indonesia's Health Ministry confirmed Wednesday that the country's death toll had risen to 45,268, with another 1,240 people still missing.

In Sri Lanka, authorities increased the death toll in that country to 23,015 after every structure along the southern coast was damaged or swept away. More than 4,000 are missing,

The number of deaths from CNN sources in all affected countries now stands at 80,427.

Other nations are continuing to report more casualties from the killer waves, spawned by a magnitude 9.0 earthquake that struck off the western-most portion of the northern Indonesian island of Sumatra.

UNICEF director Carol Bellamy said as many as one-third of the victims may be children, because children are "the least able to withstand the flooding or holding on."

In India, the government news agency said at least 10,000 Indians were killed and more bodies were being recovered.

Along India's southeastern coast, thousands of fishermen who were at sea when the waves thundered ashore have not returned.

In Tamil Nadu state, sources said 7,000 people were dead, and estimates put the death toll at 3,000 on the remote Andaman and Nicobar islands, where dozens of aftershocks were centered. (Full story)

In Thailand, officials confirmed 1,830 deaths, most of them are believed to have been in the low-lying coastal province of Phang Na.

The country's health ministry said for every Thai resident killed in the disaster, two tourists perished.

Nordic countries dispatched search teams and made public appeals for help to find some 2,700 Swedes, Danes, Finns and Norwegians missing in south Asia. (Full story)

While Thai officials fear hundreds of tourists may have died, so far at least 64 deaths have been confirmed. Hospital workers and witnesses report hundreds of bodies washing in from the sea.

On the resort island of Phuket, officials have set up a bulletin board of photographs at city hall as well as a Web site to help families and friends find one another.

Some of Thailand's smaller vacation islands were completely swallowed by the water, said Foreign Minister Surakiart Sathirathai.

Khun Poom Jensen, the 21-year-old autistic grandson of Thailand's King Bhumibol Adulyadej, was among those killed.

In all, at least 11 countries -- including Myanmar, Malaysia, Bangladesh and Tanzania -- were affected by the monstrous waves.

With the death count rising, the scale of the devastation is overwhelming.

"I've not experienced anything like this in my 30 years in the relief and emergency business," said Scott Faiia, CARE's country director for Sri Lanka.

Ronen Sen, India's ambassador to the United States, told CNN that this disaster is "of a magnitude which we have not witnessed earlier."

In Sri Lanka, a spokesman for President Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga, said the death and destruction was causing "a huge situation."

"There are instances where bodies are decomposing, and they're being photographed and fingerprinted" before being taken to mass graves, said Harim Peiris."

"And there are instances where entire families have been wiped out."

There is also concern over disease from corpses, forcing health officials in Sri Lanka to order mass burials before the bodies have been identified by family members.

As the enormous impact of the disaster takes hold, one of the world's largest relief efforts is gaining momentum. Countries and aid organizations around the world are making donations of funding, supplies and personnel to the ravaged areas. (Full story)

International health and relief organizations have emphasized that getting clean water to survivors is an absolute priority, and they warn of threat of typhoid, malaria and cholera. (Full story)

"The fundamental need at the moment is to look after the well-being of living people and to make sure that they have what they need for life," David Nabarro, of the World Health Organization, told CNN.

"And the requirement to properly dispose of dead people through burial or some other method in a way that is appropriate for the local tradition is certainly there. But it's not urgent from the point of view of public health."

The United States is offering a total of $35 million, followed by Japan with $30 million. Australia has now pledged $27 million, Saudi Arabia $10 million and Germany $2.7 million. (List of aid agencies)

A number of other countries also are reportedly planning to participate in the relief effort.

Meanwhile, relief workers and supplies have started to arrive in Indonesia's Aceh province.

UNICEF's John Budd told CNN his agency was sending 200,000 emergency kits to Aceh, but more was needed. "Six to eight weeks of emergency funding -- tens of millions in Aceh to keep them alive -- and then long term to rebuild infrastructure," he said.

Complicating the relief efforts in Aceh is an armed separatist movement that has kept the region off-limits to aid groups and journalists for years. The Indonesian government, however, eased those restrictions under the circumstances.

In Sri Lanka, international aid convoys arrived Wednesday in Galle on the southwest corner of the island, bringing drinking water and other aid to residents.

On the remote Andaman and Nicobar islands, east of India, communications lines have been cut and supplies will not be easy to deliver, CNN's Mallika Kapur reported from Port Blair, the Andaman capital. (Full story)

CNN Correspondents Hugh Riminton in Colombo, Sri Lanka; Satinder Bindra in Matara, Sri Lanka; Atika Shubert and Mike Chenoy in Banda Aceh, Indonesia; Aneesh Raman and Matthew Chance near Phuket, Thailand; and Suhasini Haidar in Chennai, India; and Journalist Iqbal Athas in Sri Lanka contributed to this report.

------------------------------------------------------------------------ --------

Copyright 2004 CNN.

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Addams
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Re: Asia quake death toll tops 80,000
« Reply #14 on: Dec 29^th, 2004, 3:01pm »

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the people of Ontario, not the government, have so far on their own raised 2 million dollars. We have so many people living in Toronto who have families in all the affected areas. I pray that the necessary funds are used expeditiously to get to those in need that which I require.

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