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Dec
31
Tsunami part VIII
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If you subscribe to the view that this was an act of God then this must have been God’s view of it.
Waveofdestruction.org has more photos and videos.
(Via MeFi.)
Dec
31
Tsunami part VII
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The death toll now exceeds 120,000.
Remarkable stories of survival are still emerging, though. The elderly man seen swept away by a sea surge in Phuket is alive. However, he’s in a coma and his wife is still missing.
Meanwhile, a MeFi poster shares a gripping personal account.
More quotes:
- “It’s not your fault, it’s not your fault. We’re your family too and we’ll stand by you through all of this.”
- “These people have lost everything, but they gave us all they had.”
- “The tsunami was not preventable, but preventing unnecessary deaths and suffering is.”
- “As many as 5 million people are not able to access what they need for living.”
- “The big challenge to all of us is not to turn away, because we’ve got to rebuild those homes and those shattered livelihoods.”
Dec
30
Tsunami part VI
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Dry factual accounts of tsunamis and sea surges don’t come close to conveying human helplessness in the face of nature’s power and fury the way these videos do (1, 2, 3).
The latest reports put the death toll at 76,700 and that means 76,700 devastating scenes like this one.
More quotes:
- “My baby’s hand was so tiny, she just slipped away from me.”
- “I thought my parents didn’t want me anymore.”
- “We haven’t eaten for two days. We have to get out of here.”
- “I have not slept for two days. It is the worst destruction I have ever seen in my years as a doctor.”
- “Rescuers are holding their breath while using their bare hands, axes or shovels to dig through piles of wrecked buildings and debris.”
- “‘Good to know that, even when more than 50,000 people are presumed dead in one of the worst natural disasters in a century, it’s still all about us.”
- “We will stand with them as they start to rebuild their communities.”
Google has listed organisations that are accepting donations. A few US dollars or Euros go a long, long way in countries like Indonesia and Sri Lanka and they badly need some help now. If you’re concerned about how well your donation is going to be handled, you might want to see these comparisons and ratings of charity efficiency and transparency.
Dec
28
Tsunami part V
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The news just gets worse. The death toll is now apparently 44,000 with children making up a large percentage of that number.
The scope of this is staggering. Wikipedia notes the earthquake and the resulting tsunamis claimed lives in 12 countries spanning 7 different time-zones with tourists from 37 countries among those dead or missing.
Locally, the number of dead stands at 63 with 26 missing. (The Star only lists 60 victims as of writing.) The country is coping, though.
Stories are emerging — uplifting, bittersweet, heart-breaking.
More personal accounts: 1, 2, 3.
Scroll half-way down this page and click on the “Se Videoen” link for distressing amateur footage of a sea surge. (Link obtained from the Qt3 forums.)
There were concerns the political situation in Aceh and Sri Lanka might affect aid distribution but warring parties in both areas are setting aside their differences for now. Dangers still remain, though. Survivors and rescuers in Sri Lanka now have to worry about landmines dislodged by the killer waves.
Yet more quotes:
- “This was the worst day in our history. I wish I had died. There is no point in living.”
- “I saw many kids perish. I saw parents trying to hold them but it was impossible. It was hell.”
- “Our major concern is that the kids who survived the tsunami now survive the aftermath. Children are the most vulnerable to disease and lack of proper nutrition and water.”
- “They gave us the shirts they were wearing. They gave us their slippers. They are the most beautiful people in the world.”
- “Will this story get as much coverage as the Scott Peterson case?“
Dec
28
Tsunami part IV
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More quotes:
- “That earthquake has changed the map.”
- “We are used to dealing with disasters in one country. But I think something like this spread across many countries and islands is unprecedented.”
- “Tens of thousands have lost their lives, but there are also hundreds of thousands who have lost everything. But for a family the numbers mean nothing. When you see a child in your home swept away without a moment’s warning - that’s the human cost.”
- “Where are my children? Where are they? Why did this happen to me? I’ve lost everything.”
- “Now we just don’t know what to do. We are sitting on the main road, we can’t even have a proper funeral. I don’t know where to start.”