This is a quesiton for Leia...

I was just wondering if the tsunami that hit last week affected the area you live as well?

We have a friend that was in Thailand on holiday at the time and we haven't heard from them since. It seems the news reports just keep gettin more and more bleak.

Rua; I hope your friends are OK.  The news of this disaster is really difficult to fathom.  I'm in Florida this week - in some of the areas that were hit by the hurricanes.  Seeing the damage here, it is hard to believe what the tsunami could do.  My prayers are with your friends.

Oh, thank you very much Bikerbraid. Our prayers are with them too. I haven't said anything till now because I keep expecting to get some sort of news that they are ok.

It really puts things into perspective when you think that all the victims out there (and in all the places hit by hurricanes this year) didn't have a CLUE what was coming to them. Just a regular day...and then *whoosh* it's all gone.

Actually, there is an excellent hurricane warning system, and Floridians had plenty of time to pack a car and drive off to safety. So what happened in Florida with repeated major hurricanes in a season pales in comparison to what happened in the Indian Ocean.

That's very true. I thought of that after I had already posted my last post.  :P At least the others had warning.

No one had warning for the tsunami.

wrote on Dec 30^th, 2004 at 11:40am:

No one had warning for the tsunami.

What's worse is that the news says that original count of victims said that 1/3 of the victims were children.. now they are saying it's more like 1/2...  

If all I can do is pray, then that's exactly what I intend to do.  Peace to their souls...

3 days ago the toll was at 22000 a 2day ago it was at 60000

8 hours later 77000 When I was up today 114,000.

I think we may see that toll double or triple even.

I think this is the worst natural disaster mankind has ever had.

Rua, I'm praying for the safe return of your friends!
I'm also praying for all the people affected by the TSunami.   Yes, it was a terrible disaster, and there
will be more affected by disease because of the bacteria
from bodies, ect.  

I have been wondering too how Leia is coping, having such a thing happen in your homeland is heartbreaking.  :(

Lots of prayers for all those affected by the tsunamis, and prayers that more don't come with any aftershocks of the earthquake.  The stories just beginning to leak out are heartbreaking.

Good news -

We received word last night that our friends in Thailand are ok. They happened to be on the other side of Thailand when the tsunami occured.

*whew - breathes mega sigh of relief*

My prayers are still with all of the others over there suffering...

wrote on Dec 31^st, 2004 at 7:58am:

Good news - We received word last night that our friends in Thailand are ok.

That's WONDERFUL! It's really nice to hear some good news for a change.
 :)

I've read that thousands of Americans are "missing", though most of them are fine, and don't realize they need to check in with theirr relatives back home to reassure everyone that they were never in danger.

Rua, I'm so glad your friends are OK!!

Rua;
I'm so glad your worries are over.  I still pray for those who are waiting word of their friends and loved ones.  It is till hard to comprehend the scope of this.  In some cases generations of a single family were wiped out.  Life will never be the same for many, many people.

This whole thing makes celebrating the new year very difficult.  I think I will spend the evening spending time coming up with ways that I might be able to help in some small way.  I've already donated money, but there must be more I can do.

It's very honourable of you to do what you have done, Bikerbraid. Every little bit helps.

And thank you everyone for your concern. I can't exactly say my worries are over though. I keep thinking of what I could be doing to help, and yet feel so helpless in situations like this. It's hard to know what to do.

Leia...I hope you are ok!

wrote on Dec 30^th, 2004 at 9:24am:

This is a quesiton for Leia... I was just wondering if the tsunami that hit last week affected the area you live as well?

Oh Rua, sorry for taking so long to reply. I seem to have missed this thread for some reason! My family is okay, thank goodness. The city we live in is nowhere near the water, so we were not affected at all. Whole villages by the coast have been wiped out, though.

Thank you so much for thinking about me. (((Rua)))

I've been watching the stories about this on the news and it breaks my heart for all of those people, especially the children. What I hate the most about the situation is that all of those people had no warning of it. I can't get away from wondering if there had been a warning, how different those death numbers may have been.

Oh good, Leia. I'm so glad that you and your family are ok! I wasn't quite sure of the geographical aspect of where you live in Dhaka and where all of this natural disaster hit.


(((Hugs)))

:)

Leia,
I am so glad to hear that you are okay.  I have been really concerned for you.  I am so happy you were not injured.

(((((HUGS)))))

SF

Leia so GLAD that you were not close enough to have had any major problems.

Thank you so much everyone! Big hugs. My dad was donating some money the other day (www.unicef.org) and he told me that if everyone in the world who could afford to donated $10, the tsunami relief foundation would be overflowing with money. :)

What happened was truly devestating. Unfortunately, scientists say it is only a matter of time before it happens to the east coast of the US.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/science/horizon/2000/mega_tsunami_qanda.shtml
THis is due to the weak volcano wall in La Palma which can collpase anywhere from 0-1000 years from now. The good news is that we will have 7-10 hours warning before the tidal wave (which will make "The Day After Tommorow" look like a joke) hits, and  my city will be one of the first hit (NYC -_-). However, the best thing would be to go to higher ground . Secondly there is development of a worldwide tsunami system ove rthe next two years...although I think it should be right now!

We can learn from what happened in Asia. The sad thing is that people saw a clear warning of the tsunami and didn't heed it. The water receded beyond the horizon, so naturally people were curious to see no water where there previously was. They walked out and gathered  fish that were left and then it hit.  What gets me is how people (not including the nay tourists) who live in these areas, didn't feel any foreboding...or didn't run away (since they had two minutes). I still feel like this could have been prevented....and I fear that when it happens here, people won't be ready.

wrote on Jan 1^st, 2005 at 6:37am:

What I hate the most about the situation is that all of those people had no warning of it. I can't get away from wondering if there had been a warning, how different those death numbers may have been.

finally someone notices!! everyone speaking of "natural disaster" while humman ignorance - better: not caring to alert at all - is probably the biggest factor at least in the number of deaths ... it's not like a tsunami happens "like that" ... even fishermen noticed the weird redrawing of the sea HOURS prior to the tsunami. i am really stunned such a thing can still happen these days.
wonder what will happen if ever the theoretical mega monster tsunami of over 300 m will hit NYC and other big american cities (miami, boston).