I don't think anyone can really grasp what happened. It's just one of those awful things that happen in life and we're all left to wonder why. :(
I just hope that no epidemics like typhoid take hold, making it that much worse for them.
Although realistically, it seems likely that disease will take its toll under those conditions.
Yah... and that's just it. Typhus and Cholera could well take even more than the waves did. It is just beginning. The world response to this will make the difference for many thousands of people, but the problem is of a magnitude that there isn't likely a way to make it work everywhere fast enough. [sigh]
But: there are a couple of ways that this might have been worse, but it wasn't. First, the wave wasn't as big as it might have been. Thirty or so feet is pretty small by tsunami standards, and had this been a hundred feet, as is quite possible, it would have been much worse.
Second, this wave hit very early in the morning, before the beaches were packed with people. A couple of hours later and the casualties would likely be double or triple.
Sure, it's looking for good news in the face of bad news, but maybe that's just me. It might well have been far worse.