A huge magnitude 9.0 earthquake hit a region near Aceh in Indonesia. It was felt from eastern India all the way to Singapore, and caused tsunamis in Sri Lanka, parts of Indonesia, the region near Phuket in Thailand, and even all the way to Ethiopia.Current estimates indicate over 120,000 dead -- primarily from tsunamis that killed people over a thousand miles away from the epicenter. There's video available of the tsunamis at:
http://sa.nextwish.org/Video/patong_beac
http://sa.nextwish.org/Video/sri_lanka_t
http://sa.nextwish.org/Video/tsunamiphuk
ronnietan near Penang, Malaysia says:"Home was hit by Tidal wave . . . practically lost everything....family is fine...thank god... *lost of words to rant* to all out there... appreciate what you have...even the smallest things and event that u consider irrelevant.. cause after this mishap...well..view's on life has change alot for me.. * sigh* back to cleaning up and getting home back on its feet"
ellie_elephant in Phuket, Thailand says:"my dad woke me up this morning at 8 o'clock, shouting "Earthquake! Earthquake!" Keep in mind that I had just woken up, I had had three hours sleep, and I live in Phuket, a place that isn't supposed to have earthquakes. So I stood there, gaping at the shaking furniture, while my dad paced around some more. A minute later, the table kindly stopped shivering and I went back to sleep. All was fine and dandy, even with the neighbours' kids screaming at the helicopters flying overhead.
At noon, my dad woke me up again, shouting, 'Tsunami! Tsunami!' Quite awake now, my brain finally put together the immensely complicated three piece puzzle of, "Earthquake. Helicopters. Tsunami. Ergo, things are not as they should be." It's one of the most surreal days I've had in a long long time.
First of all: I. Am. Fine . . . Others aren't so lucky. The epicentre of the quake was in the north of Sumatra, about 250 km from Phuket. We had slight tremors at around 8 in the morning, and then tidal waves about 16 feet high hit the West coast of Phuket (Rawai, Patong), the Similans, Koh Lanta, Phi Phi Islands. The wave reached 300 m inland at Patong and swept hundreds of tourists into the sea. If you'd have asked me two days ago, I'd have said that the worst thing that's happened to me in a while was getting my period on Christmas Eve. Irony really likes to fuck with people, doesn't it?
So, because I don't feel like regurgitating all the facts and figures, go here, and here, and here. By the time I've finished this post, the body count will no doubt be higher.
I feel... odd. Kind of detached. I know that terrible things are happening only about a 20 minute drive away from my comfy home, and yet it doesn't feel like anything but numbers. First the earthquake in Sumatra was 8.1 on the Richter scale. Then it was 8.5, and now it's confirmed to be 8.9. Right. I can figure out the amount of energy in Joules the quake took, using equations and logarithms, but I can't begin to wrap my mind around the consequences. Thousands of people are dead, and more are injured or lost at sea, but I can't feel anything."
meilathena in Medan, Indonesia says:"There was a kinda big earthquake in my place this morning . . . It woke me up, and I ran downstairs amazingly fast . . . That was shocking. I thought this house will be ruined, but thank God it's not . . . 2 tsunamis in Lhokseumawe. A town near my place! The first tsunami was as high as one coconut tree, and the second one was worse ... 2 times taller than the first one. That makes bad flood in 2 villages there, and some villages around that town."
ccmbrown from Bangkok, Thailand emailed me to say:"more than a thousand people died here because of Tsunami.And the son of our princess died too.We all so sad about that. And...*open the newspaper* for the corals,they said that we must use more than 10 years to heal them and now there're many tourists waiting for the rescues in eight islands in the west side of the south of Thailand(Hong Island,Kai Island,Poda Island,Hang Nag Cape,Rai Lay Bay,PP Island,Jum Island and Lanta Island)...for about 800 of tourists.I will send 10 helicopters to help them and including doctors,medicines and foods."
coolprasad in Madras, India said:"My city, Chennai (Madras) in South India is one of the worst hit parts by the tsunamis triggered by the quake. Marina beach, which I frequent a lot is throwing up dead bodies since yesterday morning. Water has come into the city. The beautiful beach road is partially submerged. Hundreds of fishermen are missing, the media says, and we know what became of them. The official toll, so far is 2500 in TN, my state. Since the chief minister has announced Rs.1,00,000 for every family that has lost a member, the official toll would in no way near the real figure.
My uncle residing near the beach said that he woke upto a rude but brief jolt and found everything okay after a while. Then, the tsunamis, the giant killer waves, slowly showed their presence. Nagapattinam, home of around 5000 fishermen is very badly hit. Many were at sea and their families lived close to the shore. The hospitals are ill-equipped to handle such big-scale emergencies. The top bureaucrats would see this as an opportunity to swindle from the emergency relief fund. Thanks to the public that are providing fantastic humanitarian assistance. They need to be educated about the potential outbreak of epidemics (open drainage mixing with water and flowing around the streets) and the means to prevent them.
Whenever I saw a bunch of corpses that belonged to Palestine or Sudan, I would go 'Oh my god! It's terrible' and continue my routine. Today morning, brushing my teeth, I didn't find the usual boring face in the mirror. I was unusually very aware and conscious of my morning routine activities that 'routine' seems an inappropriate word to describe my yoga and shitting and bathing and eating. Yes, I'm alive."
hserus in Madras, India says:"Widespread damage, thousands of lives lost across Thailand, Indonesia, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and India ... a tsunami swamping the beaches in Madras at just the right time to sweep away a large crowd of morning joggers. Priya and I are safe, barring a nasty shock when she was jerked out of bed early today morning by the quake, and I was sleepily muttering "just an earthquake, get back to sleep" before I woke up and flipped on the TV ... We've left the TV on, flipping back and forth from one news channel to another, one horrendous picture to another, is making us more than a bit shell shocked."
dhruhini, whose family is in Sri Lanka, says:"Thankfully my parents are okay - they have not been affected physically. However we have lost some of our closest friends. . . The death toll in Sri Lanka alone is over 13,000 right now and is expected to rize to about 15,000 within the next 24 hours. Over a million people (5% of the total population of the island) have been left homeless and have been evacuated to shelters further inland. However they are direly in need of food and medicine and water - please do anything you can to help. I know the Red Cross and the UN are accepting donations right now, and they are also looking for doctors that are willing to help."
notanangel78 in Chennai, India says in a comment:"I am closer to the beach. A church by the beach is supposedly flooded, and there are reports of people being drowned, while in Church. I wonder if they got trapped or something! Luckily not much damage near where I stay..."
vyshnavi in Bangalore says:"The beach is totally flooded. Chennai without a beach feels totally weird, even though its only temporary... People around the beach have been forced to evacuate. Looks sad."
rulinian in Madras says:"We had tremors, and floods. Apparently there are dead bodies up the coastline. Fuck . . . we're fine. But scared."
rain_panda says:"I'm scared . . . my best friend, alyssa (
tutti_frutti_) is currently on holiday in Langkawi, Malaysia. . . if Pinang (Pulau Pinang) has been affected by this (8 people have died) then Langkawi must\ have been affected too. The tidal wave would have had to pass through Langkai before it reached Penang. Puhkhet was badly affected, and that's not THAT far above Langkawi. My god i hope she and her family are okay . . . I can't believe this many people have died. This is horrible..."From
darthmyrrh in Thailand:"in my country, the death toll is now four hundreds and counting. (You can always expect it to be much higher, 'coz the goddamned government wouldn't want the people to 'panic' by showing the real death toll) . . . And THEY DID NOT GET ANY FUCKING WARNING. . . Nothing. Because some machine in Phuket was broken, and they were 'still waiting' for the budget to get a new one. The officers there didn't even know when the first quake occurs. Oh, by the way, you might want to get the dvd of 'The Beach'. Because that beach you saw in the movie is gone..."
And it is. These pictures from Phuket show just how quickly the tsunami came ashore, and just how horrible it was.
The final outcome speaks for itself. Here's a small list of organizations accepting donations to help the victims.
I'll keep this post updated as more info comes in. Please feel free to share additional information in the comments below.
(UPDATE: Welcome, readers of Time, the CBC, The Mirror, Kottke, Worldchanging, and other quality sites. Please feel free to look around a bit, leave a comment or two, or just say hi.)
December 26 2004, 08:02:27 UTC 8 years ago
It's raining real heavy now - 6 hours later, strong winds, heavy rain, lightning, thunder, the works. Although a tropical rainstrom is typical round these parts, it hasn't rained like this for a few weeks.
we are hearing bad news about Aceh though on the tv. nothing that's not already up on the news sites online.
December 27 2004, 06:58:36 UTC 8 years ago
commenting from Singapore
Thank you for the updates. Today's newspaper shows a map of the magnitude of this earthquake and it's really a shocking picture. My heart goes to every person who suffered from this disaster, and especially since during these things it's always the poor who got hit the worse :((December 27 2004, 15:14:47 UTC 8 years ago
May 4 2005, 14:43:41 UTC 8 years ago
December 27 2004, 22:35:06 UTC 8 years ago
I'm in the US
but one of my LJ friends is in Malaysia. The news didn't cover, or even mention, Malaysia, but I can only assume that the ripple effect of the tsunami affected Malaysia somewhat.She's home on break, and has no computer there. I usually have to wait for the new term to start to hear from her.
Please....anyone in Malaysia...can you tell my how your country fared? I am worried sick.
My prayers and sympathy and honest pain for the losses go out to anyone affected. I'm in Florida where we recently went through 4 hurricanes, and we thought that was bad! I cannot fathom the destruction and loss of life, and my heart weeps for everyone.
December 27 2004, 23:59:02 UTC 8 years ago
Re: I'm in the US
In comparison to the huge death toll on countries such as Sri Lanka, Thailand, Indonesia or India - i'd say M'sia fared pretty ok. Unless your friend was on holiday or lived along the coastline (likely if from a fishing village, or beachfront condos) - i suspect they're ok. Do you know which town she's from? Kuala Lumpur, and the major urban centres in M'sia have had little to no effect - if she lived in Penang/Langkawi (islands off the coast of M'sia), then you may have reason to worry. We're more shell-shocked by the huge numbers that's being spoken of on the news - truth be told, M'sia wasn't as severely affected as the other countries.Anonymous
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December 27 2004, 23:43:26 UTC 8 years ago
Totally shocked
Hello all !I'm from Germany and at first when I heard the news in the radio talking of about some 3000 death I was very upset, but lateron watching it in TV and seeing the death toll rising steadily with all the destructions - what should I say - I'm totally shocked.
Although this disaster happened so far away and luckily no friends or relatives of mine are in this area now, I am feeling with the people there. I deeply hope that there will be no further "smaller" earthquakes possibly causing further tsunamis - and I would be "lucky" if the rise of the death toll would come to an end.
A classmate of mine is of Tamil origin and her relatives live in Northern Sri Lanka - I hope that they are not harmed - it's just so cruel.
So what can I say further ? I cannot do anything from here although I'd like to help - somehow. Tomorrow I will light another candle and my thoughts will be with the poor people on the other half of the world.
Anonymous
December 28 2004, 08:03:17 UTC 8 years ago
Re: Totally shocked
I AM TOTALLY SHOCKED AND HOPE THAT ALL THOSE PEOPLE WHO HAVE SUFFERED OR SUFFERING WILL FIND SOME RELIEF AT SOME TIME I AM SORRY AND HOPE THAT THINGS TURN OUT GOOD FOR THEM AS WE ARE WATCHING THE NEWS IN AUSTRALIA AND OUR HEARTS ARE WITH YOU ALL PLEASE TAKE CARE AT THIS HORRIFIC TIME.OUR HEARTS ARE WITH YOU ALLAnonymous
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December 28 2004, 18:18:33 UTC 8 years ago
Worried in the US
My friends and I play EQ. We have many friends that are in effected areas. One of them went home to visit family in Banjai near Medan. Can anyone tell us how this city has been effected? We've not heard from him since, and we are all going nuts.Please, any info would be fantastic.
Thank you.
Heidi Stone, Florida, US
December 28 2004, 19:05:11 UTC 8 years ago
Re: Worried in the US
Binjai should be safe from the tsunamis, but it may have taken damage from the earthquakes. Reports from the region near Medan indicate that power and phones are out in many places, so I suspect they're ok, if out of contact.Anonymous
December 28 2004, 18:21:19 UTC 8 years ago
Very worried about Housemate that is In Binjai
Our housemate went home for the holidays to Binjai and he called me on the 25th for Christmas approx around the time the earthquake and tsunami hit. We have had no word since then and are very concerned. Anyone have any info on Binjai?December 28 2004, 18:52:52 UTC 8 years ago
Re: Very worried about Housemate that is In Binjai
Binjai should be safe from the tsunamis, but it may have taken damage from the earthquakes. Reports from the region near Medan indicate that power and phones are out in many places, so I suspect they're ok, if out of contact.8 years ago
Anonymous
December 29 2004, 07:42:35 UTC 8 years ago
But right now, I'm very worried about friends who might have been in Thailand when the tsunami hit... I'm praying for all those who have survived this terrible ordeal. That torn families will be reunited... that the injured will live... That the homeless will rebuild...
I live right by the water... and I must say that we were very lucky to have not gotten any tsunamis coming this way. *sigh* ...what a horrible thing to happen during the holidays. God, please help them...
Anonymous
December 29 2004, 11:28:15 UTC 8 years ago
Just a heads up, I have launched a new websiite dedicated to bringing people the latest in multimedia updates of the happenings related to the tsumani crisis.
As as result I've moved the movies over to the new server, I have modified the old server to redirect to the movies so there should be no need to update your links.
If you (or any of your visitors) have personal photos which you have taken of the aftermath please get incontact with me, I'll host them for you free of charge.
Keep up the good work, regards Geoff
- http://www.waveofdestruction.org/ (http://www.waveofdestruction.org/)
December 29 2004, 12:09:44 UTC 8 years ago
December 29 2004, 13:40:50 UTC 8 years ago
Thanks for the heads up about coolprasad -- I'll read his journal and may add him to the list.
8 years ago
December 30 2004, 08:17:39 UTC 8 years ago
BTW, CBC (Canada) has a link to your LJ on thier "CBC News Indepth: Asia Earthquake" page. :)
Anonymous
December 30 2004, 09:01:37 UTC 8 years ago
I was in the Northridge 1994 Earthquake 5 minutes driving distance from the center. I still remember everything and I'm still scared. I'm so terribly sad for all lost lives in Asia. And all survivors, God blessed you all. You have very long road to recover.
Sincerely, Tatiana D. Los Angeles, CA, USA
December 30 2004, 21:46:21 UTC 8 years ago
I cant imagine
I send condolances to all these people that suffer. I am happy to heear they are safe but sad to hear of the coping and dealing with it that they will face as the death toll rises. I have linked this journal entry to my American friends so that they too can be brought closer to an area of the world that (I personally) have never thought about and now cant stop worrying about.:(
December 30 2004, 23:14:27 UTC 8 years ago
December 31 2004, 01:45:32 UTC 8 years ago
New Years Eve
I'm from the UK. We (the British Public) have done pretty well so far in donating £25million towards aid. But millions of us will no doubt still go out tomorrow night to drink and celebrate New Year's Eve. I'm sure many people will do the same in the US? I don't want to suggest we should feel guilty about going out to celebrate, but what if we all donated £5-£10 ($8-$13) of our drinking money towards this disaster? Surely we could give up a few drinks for the cause?Anonymous
December 31 2004, 06:19:01 UTC 8 years ago
Re: New Years Eve
That is true! That will go a long way in helping the needy at this hour to have at least their basic needs met.December 31 2004, 06:44:02 UTC 8 years ago
Thanks to your blog there are plenty of information that I've been trying to find.
I'm adding you, would be easier to come back for additional information.
January 1 2005, 08:41:26 UTC 8 years ago
FIRST HAND TSUNAMI STORIES
There are so many stories of FIRST HAND ACCOUNTS of what happened in PHUKET and ASIA from the Tsunami. I have created a weblog for my experiences and that of many others if you want to read:http://phukettsunami.blogspot.com
PHUKET TSUNAMI first hand stories
Anonymous
January 1 2005, 23:29:31 UTC 8 years ago
Re: FIRST HAND TSUNAMI STORIES
god have mercy on those who perish, help you find those missing...,and give peace , courage to those who survive . red stoneAnonymous
January 3 2005, 18:01:11 UTC 8 years ago
OUR THOUGHTS & PRAYERS ARE WITH YOU ALL
TO ALL THOSE AFFECTED BY THIS TRAGEDY OUR THOUGHTS & PRAYERS ARE WITH YOU.WHEN THE NEWS FIRST SHOWED TEARS & SADNESS CAME WITH PRAYER FOR THOSE OF YOU GOING THROUGH WHAT I CAN'T EVEN IMAGINE.
MAY YOU FIND COMFORT & HOPE THROUGH ALL OF THIS & WE HERE & AROUND THE WORLD SEND OUR SUPPORT IN MANY WAYS TO YOU WITH LOVE.
FROM AN AMERICAN FAMILY
Anonymous
January 4 2005, 20:48:49 UTC 8 years ago
Tsunami Relief India
GiveWorld has set up a Rehabilitation Fund to support initiatives to helpthose affected by the disaster in South India, in association with GiveIndia
and ICICIcommunities . 100% of the funds raised for this purpose will be
disbursed for relief and rehabilitation of the victims and donors will be
provided feedback. The GiveWorld website also provides latest updates on all
relief activities.
GiveWorld is partnering with 10 non-profit organizations working on the
field. To know more about these organizations and how they are assisting the
victims please visit http://www.giveworld.org/tsunami_NGO_new
To donate online, please visit http://www.giveworld.org/tsunami.htm if in
the US or http://www.giveindia.org/give/common/tsu
located in India.
Please do spread this message to your friends and relatives.
Yours in Giving
Subhashini
Anonymous
January 7 2005, 14:21:46 UTC 8 years ago
Tsunami Relief India
Waves of fury beating on the shore, Unimaginable heights terrify us to the core. Man, woman, child it holds no discrimination, Leaving behind utter chaos and mass devastation. Suffering, bereavement, misery and sorrow, How long must we endure this horror. Lives lost, businesses perished and wrecked homes, Stench of doom, still growing in loom. What can we do in times like this, Should we just stand by and not assist? Please give your means to those in need, This is the time to do good deeds. Lastly, please say a prayer to all survivors of Tsunami, May they have the strength to overcome this catastrophe.January 5 2005, 21:59:54 UTC 8 years ago
Anonymous
February 3 2005, 09:03:15 UTC 8 years ago
Asians Protest at evil Hot 97 Tsunami Song
Asians Protest at evil Hot 97 Tsunami SongAsians all over the world have joined with the Asian Community in New York in denouncing the cruel and racist Tsunami Song by Miss Jones and Todd Lynn aired over Hot 97, the hip hop radio station in New York.
Miss Jones who was only given a temporary suspension by Richard Cummings, President of Emmis Radio, is to get her job back in two weeks time. US President George Bush has been urged to take action against Emmis Radio. Cummings has been asked to visit Indonesia and Sri Lanka and see the devastation for himself.
The news of Hot 97's racist tsunami song is filtering through to the tsunami hit countries of Indonesia, Sri Lanka, Maldives, Thailand, South India. People are incensed at the song which goes beyond human decency. The governments of the tsunami hit region have been urged to take the matter up with the US Government as it insults the deaths of so many tsunami victims. Sri Lanka has lost over 40,000 people in the tsunami according to the latest count.
Asians have joined in the demonstrations in New York supported by New York City Councillors.
Here are the lyrics:
TSUNAMI SONG
Date aired: Morning of January 18TH-27TH 2005 (multiple airings)
Station call letters: WQHT-New York (Hot 97)
Offending DJs: Miss Jones and Todd Lynn
Offending lyrics:
“There was a time, when the sun was shining bright
So I went down to the beach to catch me a tan
Then the next thing I knew
A wave 20 feet high came and wash your country away
And all at once, you can hear the screaming chinks.
And then no one was save from the wave.
There was Africans drowning, little Chinaman swept away
You can heard god laughing, swim you bitches swim.
So now you're screwed, it's the tsunami,
You better run and kiss your ass awake, go find your mommy
I just saw her float by, a tree right through her head.
And now your children will be sold in child slavery.
(Imitating Micheal Jackson)
"Oh on, please not the kids. I'll pay for all the kids.
all the little Indonesian kid, the little Asian kids, the Chinese kids.
the black, oh well, not the Black kids.
the White kids, the Puerto Rican kids.
I love them all. I'll pay for everything.
I promise I won't touch them."
People all over the world wishing to protest are requested to write to their local American Embassy and to -
Hot 97 WQHT-FM
395 Hudson Street, 7th Floor
New York, NY 10014
Phone: 212-229-9797
Fax: 212-929-8559
E-mail: jdimick@hot97.emmis.com
E-mail: hot97@hot97.com
E-mail: morningshow@hot97.com
Barry Mayo, General Manager, Hot 97 WQHT-FM
John Dimick, Program Director, Hot 97 WQHT-FM
Emmis Communications
One Emmis Plaza
40 Monument Circle, Suite 700
Indianapolis, IN 46204
Phone: 317-266-0100
Fax: 317-631-3750
E-mail: IR@emmis.com
Jeffrey H Smulyan, Chairman and CEO, Emmis Communications
Federal Communications Commission
Enforcement Bureau, Investigations and Hearings Division
445 12th Street, SW
Washington, D.C. 20554
Phone: 1-888-CALL-FCC
E-mail: fccinfo@fcc.gov
Web: www.fcc.gov/parents/content.html
February 11 2005, 11:59:55 UTC 8 years ago
Tsunami victim
Im from South Africa & we arrived in Thailand a day b4 the tsunami hit so ya,my holiday in thailand lasted a day.Any survivors from Phi Phi Island in Thailand?
Anonymous
March 15 2007, 06:33:27 UTC 6 years ago
Great work
.