Posted on 12/28/2004 11:47:11 AM PST by edmond246
Tsunami Death Toll Tops 52,000 --foxnews.com
(Excerpt) Read more at foxnews.com ...
Wait until the epidemics caused by rotting corpses, contaminated water, and disruption to existing sanitation occur. You know it's coming.
Should be captioned "Bulldozer pushes pile of dead bodies into mass grave"
China had a earthquake in 1976 that killed up to half a million people.
More than 200 000 dead in the earthquake in Tokyo (Edo) in the 1920s...
So please people, learn some history!
You forgot Cambodia and the purge after VN. I was so astounded when it happened, few people seemed to care.
1815 April 5, 10–11, Netherlands Indies (Sumbawa, Indonesia): eruption of Tambora largest in historic times. An estimated 92,000 people were killed, about 10,000 directly as a result of explosions and ash fall and about 82,000 indirectly by starvation and disease.
1902 Dec. 28, Messina, Sicily: city totally destroyed by earthquake. Death toll 70,000–100,000 in Sicily and southern Italy.
1920 Dec. 16, Gansu province, China: magnitude 8.6 earthquake killed 200,000 in northwest China.
1923 Sept. 1, Japan: magnitude 8.3 earthquake destroyed one third of Tokyo and most of Yokohama. More than 140,000 killed.
1927 May 22, nr. Xining, China: magnitude 8.3 earthquake claimed approximately 200,000 victims.
Closed Captioned Capture from FOX NEWS at 200pm:
Tue Dec 28 14:03:37 2004
people are reported dead from the disaster, most of them children. Emergency workers are delivering food, water and supplies. There are reports of hungry survivors looting in indonesia, one of the hardest hit countries. Human tearia agencies are used to handing disaster in one or two countries at one time. In this case, they are dealing with two continents, a total of 1 nations. Governments from across the world are pitching in. The U.S. Alone is planning to double its initial relief package. We are team fox coverage, rick leventhal behind the science of it all, adam housley in phuket, thailand, but first to mike emanuel in crawford, texas.
>> John, good afternoon. U.S. Officials says that the united states government has responded quickly and in a meaningful way to this tragedy of unemergenciable dimensions. The initial offering from the united states is expected to be $35 million. Some of that money will go to the international red cross and the rest of it to other relief effort, the international for U.S. Aid development has sent experts to coordinate the U.S. Efforts in the region. $2 million will go to the mission in indonesia for rice, water purification equipment, blankets and water storage estimate. $2 million to the mission in sri lanka, and $1 million to india. U.S.A.I.D. Has organized two flights to indonesia with relief materials from the stocks in dye bu, including equipment for shelter and immediate relief. White house officials say there are a dozen c-130's that are hauling in relief supplies including food, water, blankets and emergency shelter. The death toll for americans is at least 12. Seven dead in sri lanka and five in thailand. The status of hundreds of americans in the region is still unclear. American officials say they're working to figure out where they are, and if they're alive or hurt. U.S. Officials say that the clear message in the disast is americans are committed to helping.
>> I would just say, of course, that the united states and the mesh people are the single largest contributors to international aid efforts across the globe. We have been for the past few years, and I have ever expectation that will continue. Those contributions take the form of official government assistance as well as individual charitable contributions to the red cross, and to other international non-governmental organizations.
>> White house officials say that president bush is taking an active leadership role in this disaster relief effort. John. John: Mike emanuel at the western white house. Thank you. The united nations says this could be the costliest natural disaster in history. With billions upon billions of dollars in damage. Coming up, getting help to those in need. Avoiding what could be an equally delve stating health crisis. The wait has been agonizing for americans looking to get in touch with loved ones in the disaster zone. A mother in the tampa bay area says her 31-year-old son, aaron davis, moved to thailand last fall to teach english. She spoke to him a few days before the tsunamis hit and hasn't heard from him since.
>> I left -- my concern is i don't know. There's been no more reports out nobody has any names or anything. I have talked to the state department. They don't have any names yet. John: The mom says her son planned to visit a resort town for the holidays, but she doesn't remember which one. The earthquake that triggered the wave of tsunamis was so powerful it made the earth wobble on its axis and permanently changed the map of asia. To rick leventhal now.
>> Seismic sensors were registering shock waves around the world, including one buried in the ground near 96th street in central park. The globe vibrated, shaken like a bell being rung, moving some islands 60 feet or more. Even the earth's rotation may have been affected, shortening the day by microsecond. This wasn't the biggest quake ever, but the most severe in four decades, one of the top five of the past 100 years. It started six miles below the indian ocean surface along one of the many places along the crust of the earth. When one of the tetonic plates slipped, it was like a paddle across the sea bottom, moving huge volumes of water, giving birth to the giant wave. At first it was a fast moving speed bump on the surface, but as it neared land and the water grew more shallow, burying the coastline in a 40-foot wall of water. At the national earthquake information center in golden, colorado, geo physicists kept watch, but with the best equipment, experts say it's nearly impossible to predict the tsunami created by the quake.
>> So, when the earthquake first happened, we knew that it happened here near this big yellow square here, but we -- we knew how large the earthquake was, but we didn't know what direction it ruptured. For a magnitude 9 earthquake, the rupture should be approximately 1,000 kilometers, 600 miles, but we don't know what direction it's going. So, we start seeing the aftershocks.
>> Just like hurricanes, sometimes earthquakes come in clusters. There were several magnitude 9's in the late 1950's and early 1960'S. It's possible we could see more in the future. John. John: Rick levin that in fox central. Let's get a live report from adam housley in phuket, thailand.
>> One aid agency has come in is and is reporting as many as 57,000 people dead. The numbers are fluctuating and growing by the minute, partly due to the fact that indonesia has reported a government officials says that 27,000 people died there due to the tsunamis. Most of them coming from the island of sumatra, the northern area of indonesia, just to the south. Now, americans are still among the missing here in thailand, as well in other areas around the indian ocean. We know also that swedeson reporting at least 1,500 swedes have not reported to their families and friends in sweden. That's partly due to the fact that many people are trying to get out of the regions. The airports are packed. The phone systems in many cases are down, trying to use a cell phone is very difficult. Now, bodies are everywhere, unbelievable. It's hard to put it into words. To our north in fact, the fox crew went only 20 miles or so to north of where I'm standing and bodies were hanging from trees. The stench was -- there's no words to describe it. People were laying in all sorts of positions rotting along with animals. You might imagine, now the world health organization and other organizations are worried about the high risk of epidemics here. They're worried that disease could double the death toll with lack of clean water and food, lack of hygiene, immense bodies rotting. In some cases 500 or 600 bodies lying around in trees, on the ground, inside businesses. Also, beside of the fact of the need for water and food, there's a need for vaccinations. They're trying to get the relief effort in some of the areas. It's difficult. We're actually in an area that is accessible by an hour drive from the airport. If you go to the north where i was speaking of the bodies in trees and on the ground and inside buildings, it takes two or three hours just to get there and that's if you have a driver that knows what he's doing. If you come back here live, I'm going to show you to ft of what it looks like. We can pan over here, you will see the at this one point, to my left was a laundry facility and a baurbler as well. The the waves were at some point six to seven feet inside the building. We are 75 to 80 yards away from the water. Our waiter at our hotel just above the facility, about, oh, maybe 50 or 60 feet above the location. The waiter said he saw four waves come through, and actually surpass the height of the lower palm trees on the beach. He said they came in a short time frame and wiped thought entire street here. If you go over the little hill behind the camera, which you cannot see because it's dark, it took out the street and beachfront homes and businesses there as well. It actually goes inland about two blocks. As we drove into town yesterday, mid afternoon, it was just amazing to see that the rubble piled along the streetfronts for three or four blocks from the beach. As you got to the beach, the entire two story buildings just wiped out, john so, that the devastation here is immense. We're going to keep you updated throughout the day and give you a chance to show more of the rubble and problems taking place here in phuket.
More like 80 000... Voltaire went philosophical and wrote a poem after it...
That (the Bangladesh cyclone), the 1976 China quake, and the 1988 Spitak quake are the modern "leaders" in this category.
China Yellow River flood 1938... at least 900,000 died.. but no one really knows for sure.. many other floods in China too(Yantze etc)... over the centurys.. NO RECORDS.. at least detailed records..
Largest estimated death tolls are both from China (1556 AD and 1976 AD. Although official death from the July 1976 quake is around 250,000, unofficial estimates are over 600,000.
Unbelievable tragedy.
I hate to say this but the way the death toll is going up by the end it may well reach over 100,000. This is horrible!
It is also time for the public health authorities to stop worrying about burying the bodies..even in mass graves..but to start burning them..the disease potential is enormous..and can well kill MORE than the tidal wave. No one is issuing the necessary instructions..no one has the ability to lead across national lines..
I had thought the death toll would be higher among Buddhists, Hindus and other South Indians, but those were just the early reports. My sincere prayers for the Indonesians as well.
The number stands at 60,000 already, and the UN together with health organizations warned that the diseases that are caused from the dead bodies may duble the number of dead poeple- so we may reach to a total of 120,000 dead from this disaster.
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