Originally posted by RedmikeAt least 1-2 hours could have been bougt with a warning system installed in the Indian Ocean...the wave travelled at 600mph (360kmph)...plenty of time if the system is installed 600-1200 miles out at sea..Buuuttt....here's the kicker...a tsunami in this area hasn't happened since about the 1500s, and wasn't expected...so, why spend money on something that "won't" happen...terrible lesson learned...
Avoided? How, exactly?
It was, as I understand it, an earthquake under the ocean, causing a tidal wave. I'm not aware we knew how to prevent either phenomenom.
Short of 12m walls along all the affected cosats, what could we do?
Also, the speed of the waves probably means minimal warning could be given.
I have never felt so helpless or distressed watching the events unfold.
An immediate priority is to keep the survivors alive. In many places hospitals are overwhelmed with the wounded. Disease and lack of water/food may kill tens of thousands in the next few days.
Aid agencies have made appeals for urgent funds. In the UK, aid is being co-ordinated by the Disasters Emergency Committee, an umbrella group for a number of organisations including Oxfam, the British Red Cross, Save the Children and many others. Donations can be made at www.dec.org.uk. £5 million has been raised in the last 24 hours. There will be similar organisations in many countries and communities.
Many people have also contacted our elected representatives asking for the British Government to maximise financial assistance and provide as much support as possible in terms of logistics, personnel, equipment and provisions. I hope our Governments are doing all that is requested of them, but feel our voices can make them double their efforts.
My deepest felt sympathy to all those affected by this disaster.
i spent a couple of weeks in a hotel that was right on the beach ... barely above the high tide mark (below the king tides) ... on a beach on tamil nadu ... of course we played some chess ... that hotel is probably now entirely washed away and/or full of dead bodies ... scary.
one day the fishing boats came back after a good days fishing ... coming through the regular breakers one boat split apart ... in seconds the whole village was in the water ... just a few went in deep ... lots went in up to their knees ... people all over the beach ... i had no idea so many people were watching ... my friend and i were caught in the rush and found ourselves helping too ... busy: rescuing people, fish, and boat parts.
that whole village of fisher-families lived right on the beach ... :'(
One of the most shocking, disturbing and horrible things I have ever seen. I feel deeply saddened for all the people whose lives have been lost or those who survived the horror and are now trying to piece their lives together. We should all donate to the disaster fund and hopefully in some way help those less fortunate than ourselves.
Originally posted by TorkienI totally agree. I myself donated 50 dollars to CARE Australia yesterday.
One of the most shocking, disturbing and horrible things I have ever seen. I feel deeply saddened for all the people whose lives have been lost or those who survived the horror and are now trying to piece their lives together. We should all ...[text shortened]... nd hopefully in some way help those less fortunate than ourselves.
EDIT - Also, in the news, there are people (in Australia) who are saying that the 35 million dollars our government pledged to help/aid the affected areas is too much money to give. WTF?
Originally posted by flexmoreIt's hard for me to watch this news coverage, I wanted to just cry. It has taken me a while to even encompass the magnitude of what has happened. That being said I have one thing now that bothers me as I see more nes coverage. The home video cameras have captured a lot of this.
i spent a couple of weeks in a hotel that was right on the beach ... barely above the high tide mark (below the king tides) ... on a beach on tamil nadu ... of course we played some chess ... that hotel is probably now entirely washed away and/or full of dead bodies ... scary.
one day the fishing boats came back after a good days fishing ... coming throu ...[text shortened]... fish, and boat parts.
that whole village of fisher-families lived right on the beach ... :'(
The problem is the opposite of what felxmore is talking about. I just watched camera footage of little children being swept under the water as it rushed inland. I realize that some people think the event needs to be captured, but these children were only feet away from the whomever was filming it. That camera needed to be thrown down, and those children needed to be helped. There is no way I could have sat idly by while this was happening. This just really bothered me.
Nyxie