Tidal Waves Kill More Than 700 in Asia

yahoo/AP ^ | 12-26-04 | LELY T. DJUHARI

[sully777]

36 minutes ago JAKARTA, Indonesia - The world's most powerful earthquake in 40 years rocked northern Indonesia on Sunday and launched tidal waves that swamped villages and seaside resorts across Asia, killing more than 700 people in five countries.

Some 300 were reported killed in Sri Lanka, 286 in India, 94 in Indonesia, 61 in Thailand and seven in Malaysia. Hundreds were reported missing, and the death toll was expected to rise.

The U.S. Geological Survey ( news -web sites ) said a magnitude-8.9 quake — one capable of massive damage — struck off the coast of the Indonesian island of Sumatra at 8 a.m. Sunday. The USGS ( news -web sites ) revised the quake's size upward from magnitude-8.5.

Soon after it hit, immense waves or tsunamis crashed into several countries, and aftershocks in the magnitude-7 range were seen, the USGS said, raising the possibility of a catastrophic regional death toll.

Waves crashed into coastal villages over a wide area of Sri Lanka — some 1,000 miles west of the quake's epicenter — killing some 300 people and displacing thousands of others, said military spokesman Brig. Daya Ratnayake.

Parts of the northeastern districts of Muttur and Trincomalee were inundated by waves as high as 20 feet...Officials at the USGS, based in Golden, Colo., blamed the tidal waves on the quake...[geophysicist Julie] Martinez...said the quake was the world's fifth-largest since 1900 and the largest since a 9.2 quake hit Prince William Sound Alaska in 1964...The Indonesian quake struck just three days after an 8.1 quake struck the ocean floor between Australia and Antarctica, causing buildings to shake hundreds of miles away but no serious damage or injury.

[sully777]

UPDATE 18 Minutes ago

Same headline and source (Yahoo/AP) Over 2,200 Dead So Far
Link http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/ap/20041226/ap_on_re_as/indonesia_earthquake_15

[Grzegorz 246]

http://freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1308556/posts

[sully777]

Re: Australian Broadcasting Corporation/Asia Pacific
Thousands killed as tsunamis sweep across Indian Ocean

Last updated: 26/12/2004 8:47:30 PM AEST http://abcasiapacific.com/news/stories/asiapacific_stories_1272475.htm

 
A series of earthquakes off Indonesia has triggered a series of tidal waves, killing thousands of people, with many still missing, and causing widespread damage.

There are initial reports of people dead and missing in Indonesia, Thailand, Sri Lanka, India, Malaysia and Maldive islands

The United States Geological Survey has now upgraded the magnitude of the initial quake off the Indonesian island of Sumatra to eight-point-nine.

Sri Lanka has declared a "state of disaster" after unprecedented tsunami waves lashed more than half the island's coastline, killing at least 1,000 people.

Officials say President Chandrika Kumaratunga, who is in London, is expected to cut short her holiday and return home.

India's government says at least 1000 people are dead while 99 people are confirmed dead in southern Thailand.

In Indonesia the death toll from the quake has risen to over 100

[mfccinsd]

I'm afraid this is going to keep getting worse and worse :-( Each article keeps having new numbers...and they definitey aren't going down. Man, prayers for that whole region.....

http://edition.cnn.com/2004/WORLD/asiapcf/12/26/asia.quake/index.html

Asian quake kills thousands
Sunday, December 26, 2004 Posted: 1017 GMT (1817 HKT)


(CNN) -- The world's most powerful earthquake in 40 years triggered massive tidal waves that slammed into villages and seaside resorts across Asia on Sunday, killing thousands across five countries.

...snip...

Over 1,700 people in Sri Lanka were killed after tidal waves battered the country's eastern coast, according to Colombo police. Authorities fear the death toll there could rise.

[Quilla]

People look at a car and debris that was washed by tidal waves in Madras, in the southern Indian state of Tamil Nadu, Sunday, Dec. 26, 2004. A massive tidal wave triggered by an earthquake in Indonesia slammed into several parts of southern India Sunday killing at least 286 people, most of them in Tamil Nadu state. The U.S. Geological Survey (news - web sites) said the 8.9-magnitude earthquake in Indonesia is the largest in the world in 40 years. (AP Photo/M.Lakshman)

[Grzegorz 246]

"I'm afraid this is going to keep getting worse and worse"

Unfortunately you are right. At least 10.000 killed in my opinion.

[mfccinsd]

Unfortunately I'm afraid you're right, too........and "at least" probably being key words :-( Man......these reports are so surreal...and the low numbers...surely anyone who has been to these areas knows how unlikely it is people in many of the structures could survive something much less huge in scope... So sad..............

[JimSEA]

Television reports are coming in now and are more encouraging than the earlier reports. The damage on Ko Phi Phi was extreme but only 20+ deathes reported including thai tourist and 6 Europeans. The day trip boats had not yet left for the island but the boats carrying tourists back from Phi Phi had already arrived back to the mainland in Krapi and Pang Nga. The coast rises quickly beyond the beach in much of Puket and Krapi so the death toll may be less than initially feared.

Anyone who has been to Patong would not recognize it. The small restraunts, bars and curio shops are all gone!! The business area was destroyed a half kilometer inland. The reports say it was without warning. The pictures would give the impression that the death toll would be much higher than is apparently to case (thank God).

[mfccinsd]

Praying they do go down!

Just seems like getting numbers is going to be really hard beyond just logistics (lack of access to many areas and lack of communication) since they kept talking about how many people were just 'swallowed' up.....

This is so sad.........................

[JimSEA]

The common thread on the new is that if you are sitting on a tropical beach and happen to notice that the water has suddenly gone way, way out, turn around and run like hell for the high ground and away from the beach. Several of the survivors report that the are alive for doing just this. Apparently, this gave a 3 or 4 minute warning.

[Bon mots]

I heard that often before a tsunami, the tide suddelny goes way out. I've heard of people going out to pick up fish and things out in the empty sea-bed... when suddenly it all comes back with a vengeance.

So if the water at the beach ever unexpectedly recedes, run like hell.

[Bon mots]

[JimSEA]

I heard that often before a tsunami, the tide suddelny goes way out.

Apparently that was exactly what happened. Fear of the unknown reason for the sudden low tide saved several lives. I am hearing on the radio that perhaps my earlier, hopeful post on Ko Phi Phi was premature as some officials are estimating in excess of 200 dead there. As you can immagine, Thai journalism is a little chaotic just now. I mention their reports but give no support to their accuracy.

Some 200 long tail boats are missing with their owners and any passengers. This is by far the best way to see the beauty of Pang Nga bay -- truely one of the most spectacular sights in the world. However, these are not rough water craft. Usually the sea is very calm there. I cannot believe that these boats could survive the waves I have seen pictures of. Half of the 200 boats would likely be fishermen and the other half tourist boats carrying 2 to 10 passengers.

[SkyPilot]

Do any photographs of tidal waves exist?

A google search of "Tidal Wave and Photo" turns up people wearing hats, flowers, riding bycycles, and cutsie wave paintings on black velvet--but no pictures of what a real tidal wave looks like.

[DB]

There are several captured on video (or film). Most of the ones I've seen were captured in Japan after quakes.

[sukhoi-30mki]

Sri Lanka-the latest numbers are around 2,300.
India-1,200.
Indonesia-between 400 to 700.

[mfccinsd]

I'd suspect Indo's #s alone may at least double...these numbers just keep rising...we started at dozens and low hundreds in almost all these places and reports of an earthquake in Bangladesh, too ...then we jumped a bit, and now in under 2 hours most of those already high numbers have nearly doubled again.................. :-(

[SkyPilot]

Thanks--if anyone has any links, it would be appreciated.

[Grzegorz 246]

6000 killed and still rising...

[Strategerist]

There's some black and white video of a tsunami in the 1960s hitting Hilo, Hawaii.

Along with the Japanese stuff (mostly at night.) They don't look anything like what the movies or even documentaries portray; there's no big breaking wave, just a fast moving rising tide.