500mph Tsunami Waves Kill Over 21,000

College Confidential Community
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<p>Mother Nature is a Biyatttcchhhh......
This is really really sad (and crazy). </p>

<p>"Tsunami Waves Kill Over 21,000 in Asia
Aid Workers Rush to Areas Devastated by Tsunami Waves; Millions Homeless </p>

<p>COLOMBO, Sri Lanka (Dec. 27) -- Rescuers piled up bodies along coastlines devastated by a tsunami that obliterated seaside towns in Asia and Africa, killing 21,000 people in nine countries. Hundreds of children were buried in mass graves in India, and morgues and hospitals struggled Monday to cope with the catastrophe. </p>

<p>The death toll rose sharply a day after the magnitude 9 quake struck deep beneath the Indian Ocean off the coast of Indonesia. It was the most powerful earthquake in the world in four decades. </p>

<p>WHAT HAPPENED?
Thousands of people were killed by tidal waves in southern Asia Sunday. </p>

<p>ABOUT TSUNAMIS:
These towering tidal waves are set off by undersea quakes, landslides or volcanos. </p>

<p>Walls of water sped away from the epicenter at more than 500 mph before crashing into the region's shorelines, sweeping people and fishing villages out to sea. Millions were displaced from their homes and thousands remained missing Monday. </p>

<p>"Death came from the sea," said Satya Kumari, a construction worker living on the outskirts of the former French enclave of Pondicherry in India. </p>

<p>"The waves just kept chasing us. It swept away all our huts. What did we do to deserve this?" </p>

<p>The governments of Indonesia and Thailand conceded that public warnings came too late or not at all. But officials insisted they could not know the seriousness of the threat because no tsunami warning system exists for the Indian Ocean. </p>

<p>Officials said the death toll would continue to rise, and the international Red Cross said it was concerned about waterborne diseases." </p>

<hr>

<p>"Also among the missing, injured or dead were nationals of South Korea, Japan, Germany, South Africa, Hong Kong, Australia, Malaysia, Mexico, Russia, and Chile, Thai media reported. </p>

<p>Frenchman Philippe Gilbert recounted gripping a tree and holding his breath when a giant wave hit his beachside bungalow in the southern Sri Lankan resort of Tangalle. He watched helplessly as his 4-year-old granddaughter disappeared in waves triggered by the 9.0-magnitude undersea quake off the Indonesian island of Sumatra." </p>

<p><a href="http://aolsvc.news.aol.com/news/article.adp?id=20041225210109990003%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://aolsvc.news.aol.com/news/article.adp?id=20041225210109990003&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

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<p>Wow, this was bad. How could this happen? I thought science could predict catastrophic natural disasters. I watch a show about tidal waves in the history channel. I'm not sure, but I think the show was about a tidal wave that occurred in the early half of the 20th century in Hawaii(?). As the show was ending, a native Pacific Islander talked about the new technologies in place today that would foretell the possibility of a tsunami occuring.
I guess mother nature still has surprises in store for us. Man, that sucks for us.</p>

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<p>It wasn't predicted because there aren't many seismologists in the ocean, and aren't many period in a country like Indonesia.</p>

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<p>I see. I guess this was one of those things where certain circumstances made it impossible to avoid, unfortunately. :(</p>

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<p>I heard that on the news- some huge earthquake in the ocean caused this giant wave. this is so many more ppl than 9-11 and we thought that was bad this is unbeliveable :(</p>

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<p>23000 now....</p>

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<p>holy s*** =(</p>

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<p>dont forget the millions that are homeless and the millions that will starve from lack of food or die from unsanitary conditions. This can possibly be one of the worst disasters of all times.</p>

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<p>While this is terrible, it is very different from 9-11... This is a natural disaster, not somehting caused by an act of terrorism. I lived about 8 miles from where the 1994 Northridge quake was centered, and actually my home was destroyed (by destroyed, I mean we were able to get most of our stuff out in the following weeks, but were never able to move back in to the physical home as it was too badly damaged) in that quake. Northridge was only a 6.7 and I recall just how devistating it was, plus considering that we were in an area that is prepared for Earthquakes. I can't even how power a 9.0 would be, the thought of it scares me!</p>

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<p>ive been reading about the disaster in Asia the past two days and it brings me to tears, the sheer level of distruction, the complete and total devastation. If you'd like good coverage, the BBC site and the Yahoo! News are both good sources.</p>

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<p>At least 21,000 people have lost their lives, and more than 2 million are homeless.
And typically on CC, people think a "disaster" is not getting into Harvard.</p>

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<p>this is one of those things that when it happens, it makes you want to analyze your priorities in life. Northstar makes a good point.</p>

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<p>Even if it could be predicted, there isn't much the villagers living in fragile villages in Aceh or Southern Thailand could do. This sucks.</p>

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<p>C'mon now. I do agree Rhizome that American news outlets place more emphasis on the lives of Americans. Probably, just like the French would do if their citizens were killed in any catastrophic event or like the Spanish would for their citizens. That is how the world is. Not just America but all world powers. The bigger issue is that lives were lossed. We should be in grief because of that, rhizome21. more than 23,000 people died. I'm not grieving because Americans died but, 23,000 people from all over died in such a horrific way.</p>

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<p>well said joker</p>

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<p>yikes! sry i said ne thing. i believe ne1 dying is a tragedy- i was just noting how the news barely covered this tsunami, but with 9-11 it was covered for months. i agree w/ jokers comment how every country makes their own new a priority. sry again, didn't mean to sparke any bad feelings :/</p>

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<p>Rhizome21, you missed the worst one:</p>

<p>U.S. Honeymooners Survive Tsunami on Thai Island
<a href="http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?type=domesticNews&storyID=7184409%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?type=domesticNews&storyID=7184409&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

<p>I'm Indian, and this just ****ed me off. Reuters is supposed to be one of the better and more respectable news agencies.</p>

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<p>I don't understand why you guys are getting so ****ed off. Okay, first off, America is a huge world power, how can you deny such a thing. And as an American, of course I'm going to be more concerned about the well being of other Americans. Other Americans are going to be concerned with other Americans as well. News agencies are therefore going to cater their news to people who have access to television and news, the foreigners to the countries that were hit. To many people, these disasters are so distant that it doesn't really even matter to them. Reuters, AP, etc. NEEDS to talk about the significance of these events as it matters to Americans.</p>

<p>Rhizome21:
"I think it is reasonable to say that we live in a world of racism. Westerners are viewed as more worth than other people, especially people in poor, undeveloped nations."
-Of course, it terms of monetary value, westerners are worth lots more than people in poor undeveloped nations. There's only so much that we can do to help them. Would you be willing to give up your money/lifestyle for someone in Indonesia or Sri Lanka? </p>

<p>"I'm ashamed to be an American. Filthy subhumans."<br>
-Be reasonable. At least the US is giving any aid. If a huge tsunamic were to flatten the California coast, do you think these nations would even take the time to notice and give us aid? Probably not. </p>

<p>And before you berate me or say I'm an ungrateful American...I'm actually a Vietnamese immigrant to the US and glad that no one over in Vietnam has been affected. Rhizome21, just be grateful you weren't living there where the tsunamis hit.</p>

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<p>"Filthy subhumans"</p>

<p>hahaha</p>

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<p>iamhung, you people dont NEED aid...</p>