Welcome indeed, Olan. I very much hope aid from here and everywhere is soon on the ground.
Our thoughts are with all Indonesians, and people in other countries, suffering now.
A lady that tutors with my wife has a son missing in Thailand, not sure if it is communications or he's really gone. He's a teacher.
Death count is over 50,000 now.
U.S. is contributing $35million as of now and will go more as things are assessed.
I'm shocked at how much damage and how little warning there was.
Also, I'm shocked that December 26th -28th seem particularly bad days for earthquakes.
Messina, Italy (December 28, 1908) 200,000 killed
Earthquake in Kansu China (12/26/1932), 70,000 killed
Earthquake in East-Anatolia Turkey (12/26/1939), 50,000 killed
Bam, Iran (December 26, 2003) 43,000 killed
Indian Ocean earthquake (26 December 2004) 50,000+ killed
Yeah, it's ashame but we can't be warned about every danger.
All satellite gravity measurements over decades have shown the Indian Ocean area as having the lowest gravity gradient on the planet:
Would that make a difference as to relative force of the waters set in motion by the earthquake? Would it make a difference as to probability of 9.0 on Richter scale plate movement?
There was about 600 miles of plate movement, that is an incredible amount of water that was displaced..
Brand X - tks, hadn't seen that calculation. How do they measure those 600 miles - is is cubic miles of ocean water?
Sorry have been at work round the clock and only intermittently followed news reports; thanks.
There was a report on cnn early on that the vertical plate movement displacement was equal to a column of water ten feet high. I have not seen that statement repeated and have no idea where the data came from. But if so it would suggest significant plate movement.
I wonder whether the loss of so much polar ice has caused extra out-of-balance stresses near the equator? I am aware that tectonic plate movement causes shocks to occur, and this is natural, but this area of the ocean does not usually suffer shocks, and shocks of this magnitude are most uncommon.
McTag - wouldn't melting polar ice cool rather than warm the ocean waters? I don't know the answer as much depends on the great oceanic currents, but at any rate the Indian Ocean has been warming, not cooling:
http://www.nasa.gov/centers/jpl/news/indian-ocean-120204.html
Mind you some of those really "warm" spots near the coastlines are raw sewage and chemicals runoff, esp. near the great estuaries.
Think mebbe McTag was meaning changing weights or something???
Over 58,000 dead and the headline I read is, "Czech Supermodel Injured in Tsunami." The press has no soul.
Toll rises to 63,114
Good gawd! Words escape me.
Interesting story here:
http://www.independent-media.tv/item.cfm?fmedia_id=10211&fcategory_desc=Under%20Reported]http://www.independent-media.tv/item.cfm?fmedia_id=10211&fcategory_desc=Under%20Reported
Anyone familiar with the whale and dolphin beachings over the last month?
If not from the oil explorers, perhaps there was something else happening with the plates earlier than we thought and the animals were a warning?
Oxfam
I just sent a contribution to Oxfam, the organization that seems to be doing the best job of getting aid quickly to the tsunami victims.
http://www.oxfam.org.uk/
BBB
Can you say on what basis you think they are doing best, BBB?
I was about to call the Red Cross to donate...
dlowan
dlowan, I've been watching CNN and the BBC for info. I waited until today to make my $100 donation until I decided Oxfam seems to be the one aid organization that is already on the ground providing drinking water, medical supplies, etc. especially in Sri Lanka. I think Oxfam knows what is actually needed better than some of the US organizations because because they focus on helping the poor in third world countries rather than just natural disaster victims. The other organizations seems to be waiting to learn what supplies and services are requested by government. Oxfam didn't wait and started providing supplies immediately.
One thing I'm waiting to see happen is for the brewery companies throughout the world to start shipping in fresh drinking water in beer cans as they've done in the past. If the victims don't receive fresh uncontaminated drinking water soon, the death numbers will double and triple due to disease from bad water. Most fresh water supplies are contaminated by sea water and sewage and safe water is a critical need.
BBB
Our 'Governmental disaster relief organization' THW has sent some water preparation units. And since some people from our local group are on the way down there as well, I've donated to them.
