We just found out about the massive earthquake in southern Asia. Apparently over 5000 people were killed, with the toll rising. A quick call overseas confirmed that all of our relatives are fine, thankfully. My husband’s parents said they felt the quake go on for a full minute. A horrible tragedy.
Robin
At least 10,000 victims at the time of this posting, all due to tidal waves. Unaccounted for is the area of Sri Lanka controlled by the Tamil Tigers. The primary tremblor was measured at 8.9, with aftershocks at around 6 and 7, originating about 160 miles southwards from Banda Aceh, Indonesia. Reports say that the Earth’s orbit was disturbed! Apparently the Western Hemisphere’s west coast will be unaffected.
Terrible news.
It’s an unimaginable tragedy. Those poor people.
Ironically, in the Anglican Cycle of Prayer this morning, we prayed for the Church of Ceylon (aka Sri Lanka).
Redwolf
Shocking reminder of the ephemeral nature of life. Easy for many of us to feel complacent.
A terrible tragedy, and right at Christmas. My thoughts and prayers are with the countless thousands and thousands facing loss and hardship at this time.
I’m glad that your relatives are alright, Robin. Many prayers are going up for those that have suffered loss in this horrible tragedy.
life can be so harsh, we can be blown away like dust..
My parents, BTW, being east of Malaysia (though in the Malay Archipelago), were unaffected.
Been in some of the places affected,
including Ceylon.
I’m not a big fan of nature.
What I don’t understand is why people
didn’t know the tidal wave was
coming, after the huge earthquake.
Seems to have caught Asia
by surprise.
Apparently warnings were issued to the governments of the affected countries, but some didn’t have means of disseminating the information (radio might have been a good place to start?).
The BBC are talking about Twenty thousand deaths.It is very hard to get the head around these numbers.
Horrific affair.
Slan,
D.
Many places have no advanced tsunami warning system like they have in Japan and Hawaii. In fact, as far as I know, there is not one on the whole east coast of America, and I’m not so sure about the west coast, either. Anyone care to correct me on that? Also, a lot of the places hit were third-world countries, not even up to speed on the basics like sanitation.
i’ve spent time on that beach in Madras, by the way. There are generally a lot of people there during the cooler times of day or night.
Walden, I’m glad your parents are ok. I assume Singapore was unaffected, does anyone know?
Robin
There is a tsunami warning system on the coast of Washington State.
I can’t imagine people running out onto the exposed ocean floor when the water gets sucked back - I’d be headed for the hills as fast as I could!
Last I heard it was rated a 9 on the Richter scale.
Most places on the American West Coast are not in much danger from tsunamis because of the configuration of the ocean floor and the coastline. There are some areas in Oregon and Washington that could be vulnerable, and they do have warning systems in place…you can’t drive up Highway 1 without seeing occasional signs warning that you are in a tsunami danger zone. That said, they’re still very rare here…nothing like the danger from them in Hawaii and Japan. The East Coast is much, much less seismically active, so I doubt they really have a strong need for any kind of tsunami warning system.
Redwolf
Yes, radio, TVs are all over the place,
and word spreads very rapidly by word of mouth.
Police driving about with loud speakers,
Go inland, big tidal wave coming! Go now!
It’s rather hard to believe that
this wouldn’t help.
You know, they have scientists in these
countries, they are aware of earthquakes.
What is a tsunami warning system?
Anybody know how it works?
Yes, Madras is a beautiful city.
We have tsunami training for all of our students. Back in '64, a wave washed over this town, as well as a village out in the Sound. Both the town and the village have since relocated. At our house on the tide, we run up the hill when there’s a quake. Though if it’s a big one, we won’t have time to run.
So many souls. I wish them peace.
And fortitude for those staying and rebuilding.
Jennie
Been following this story closely as of now the best estimate of life lost is
11, 800
I don’t know how tsunami warning systems work elsewhere, but my in-laws live near a tsunami-vulnerable area in Oregon, and they have something similar to air-raid sirens. When conditions raise the danger level (such as an offshore earthquake) or when a tsunami surge is known to be headed in that direction, the sirens are supposed go off. I believe there are also radio and TV warnings similar to (and possibly affiliated with) the Emergency Broadcast System as well. While it’s not always the case, there is often time to get to a safe area before a tsunami hits land, if one has sufficient warning.
Redwolf
Latest count is over 13,000 lost…I just heard that some of the tourist were sun bathing when the wave hit. So evidently there wasn’t any suffucient warning that the wave was on its way.
Terrible, terrible news and dreadful stories about family members being lost and about parents losing their children as they got swept away by the wave. My brother is in Thailand now for diving and I just heard from him this morning that he is ok. They had decided to leave Krabi for a few days of diving on the islands on the east coast. Turned out to be a life saving decision. My thoughts and prayers are with all who did lose someone, or have to struggle through a very difficult time.
/MarcusR