Posted on 12/30/2004 5:48:14 AM PST by IAF ThunderPilot
BANDA ACEH, Indonesia (AP) -- The death toll from last weekend's earthquake-tsunami catastrophe rose to more than 114,000 on Thursday as Indonesia uncovered more and more dead from ravaged Sumatra island, where pilots dropped food to remote villages still unreached by rescue workers. A false alarm that new killer waves were about to hit sparked panic in India, Sri Lanka and Thailand...
http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/T/TSUNAMI?SITE=WYCHE&SECTION=HOME
(Excerpt) Read more at hosted.ap.org ...
I was not referring to the war on terror, but the world's response to the loss of great numbers of human lives, which in some instances could have been prevented. The present diaster occurring in more than one country complicates rescue efforts exponentially with each country seeking aid from unaffected countries without some central direction to maximize the aid efforts. It is not unusual to use military forces to provide the necessary services and logistics needed in cleanups after natural disasters. Indeed, military forces are masters of logistics which are necessary in droughts or floods or earthquakes. If US forces were not totally committed in Afghanistan and Iraq, more resources could have been thrown into the current disaster.
>Kinda puts the Scott Peterson case into perspective, >doesn't it?
No, it doesn't. That so many people lost thier life in this catastrophe is horrific. But this was a natural occurence. Scott Peterson killed his wife in cold blood and her life is no less important than those who died in the tsunami.
This is crazy... Its only going to get worse with the after effects from lack of food, water and disease. I would not be suprised if it jumped past 250,000 in the comming weeks.
Im 32 years old, it seems like one of the biggest or biggest natural disaster in my lifetime.
I pray for the lost and I pray for every parent whose family was torn apart, sometimes torn from their arms in the waves. I don't know how I would manage seeing my child swept away from me like so many were. Heaven help them.
Agreed, the Red Cross will never see another cent from me..
Contact Operation Blessing at www.ob.org or call (800) 952-5377.
A tsunami of this magnitude striking the US East Coast would not be any less devastating. It's also not impossible ...
Property wise you are correct. We on the other hand have a very good tsunami warning system in place.
I have a certain personal interest in this...
I follow you until this statement:
If US forces were not totally committed in Afghanistan and Iraq, more resources could have been thrown into the current disaster.
In which case, I would say as an American, "Where is the rest of the world? and where is the UN?" Why must WE be "responsible" for the rest of the world?
In alot of ways...I don't blame people (not that it is right) who live a life with a "screw everyone else...I'm looking out for me" attitude. I swear...you're damned if you and damned if you don't.
Outside the Pacific, no tsunami warning systems or centres exist, although the tsunami hazard exists on both sides of the Atlantic Ocean, in the eastern Indian Ocean, and in the Mediterranean, Caribbean and Black Seas. In some of these regions, efforts have already been launched for the establishment of warning systems in these areas. ICG/ITSU provides information and guidance, and shares knowledge and experience with the IOC Member States of these regions.
IOW, if that big volcano in the Azores(?) ever does cut loose, I'm #@(%ed...
There was an earthquake in China in 1976 that killed around 600,000 people.
Bangladesh lost 300,000 people in November 1970 and more than 130,000 in April 1991, from cyclone-induced flooding.
German teams are on the ground in Phang Nga Province in Thailand. No Americans in sight.
And I say where was the rest of the world when they could prevent the loss of life rather merely responding after there is a loss of life.
Some people are capable of looking at situations from more than one angle at a time. Get a grip!
"When will men declare war on nature instead of trying to appease it?"
You're joking, of course; right?
Rockets?
Apparently you weren't paying attention in 1991 when 140,000 people died in the small nation of Bangladesh due to flooding. I remember. However, the images and videos were controlled by the 3 MSM outlets so there was not as much to see to make it stick in your mind.
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