This news just really puts things into perspective. These people had no warning. I am sure that the death toll will continue to climb. My prayers are with the people from that area of the world....
http://www.orlandosentinel.com/news...22604,0,2771018.story?coll=orl-home-headlines
Quakes' tidal waves kill more than 13,000
COLOMBO, Sri Lanka -- Rescuers scoured waterlogged coasts across Asia on Monday after an earthquake of epic power struck below the Indian Ocean and sent huge walls of water crashing onto beaches in eight countries, killing more than 13,344 people and leaving millions homeless.
The death toll along southern shores of Asia -- and as far west as Somalia on the African coast, where nine were reported killed -- increased steadily as authorities sorted out a far-flung disaster caused by the 9.0-magnitude earthquake, the world's strongest in 40 years.
Worst-hit Sri Lanka and Indonesia had at least a million people each driven from their homes. Warships in Thailand steamed to remote tropical island resorts to search for survivors as air force helicopters in Sri Lanka and India rushed food and medicine to stricken areas.
Indonesia, Sri Lanka and India each reported thousands dead, and Thailand -- a Western tourist hotspot -- said hundreds were dead and thousands missing. Malaysia, Maldives and Bangladesh also reported deaths.
The earthquake hit at 6:58 a.m. (0058GMT) Sunday off the west coast of the Indonesian island of Sumatra. The tsunami came as much as 2 1-2 hours later, without warning, on a morning of crystal blue skies. Sunbathers and snorkelers, cars and cottages, fishing boats and even a lighthouse were swept away.
"It's an extraordinary calamity of such colossal proportions that the damage has been unprecedented," said Chief Minister Jayaram Jayalalithaa of India's southern state of Tamil Nadu, where beaches turned into open-air mortuaries.
"It all seems to have happened in the space of 20 minutes. A massive tidal wave of extreme ferocity ... smashed everything in sight to smithereens," she said.
Sri Lanka -- an island nation some 1,600 kilometers (1,000 miles) west of the epicenter -- had a death toll of at least 6,090, with 4,590 reported killed in government-controlled areas and at least 1,500 in Tamil rebel-controlled territory. Some 1 million people were displaced.
About 25,000 troops were deployed Monday to crack down on sporadic, small-scale looting in Sri Lanka's coastal areas and help in rescue efforts as helicopters dropped medicine and rescue teams to remote areas. About 200 inmates took advantage of the chaos, escaping from a prison in coastal Matara.
Sri Lanka's government declared a national disaster. So did the neighboring Maldives, a low-lying string of 1,192 coral atolls where 32 people were killed and power was cut by the rushing waters.
The U.S. Geological Survey said the quake's magnitude was 9.0 -- the strongest since a 9.2 magnitude temblor in Alaska in 1964, and the fourth-largest in a century. The quake was nearly 10 kilometers (6 miles) deep and was followed by a half-dozen powerful aftershocks.
Traveling at nearly jetliner speeds, the first huge waves began pummeling southern Thailand an hour after the quake. In 2 1/2 hours, the torrents had traveled some 1,600 kilometers (1,000 miles) and slammed India and Sri Lanka. They eventually struck Somalia.
Towns in Indonesia's Aceh province on Sumatra, the closest land to the earthquake's epicenter, were swamped by the waves. The Health Ministry said at least 4,448 people were killed in Indonesia, hundreds missing and a million left homeless. A reporter for The Associated Press saw bodies wedged into trees in one village, apparently left there by receding waters.
The quake occurred where several geological plates push against each other with massive force. The U.S. Geological Survey said a 1,000-kilometer (620-mile) section along the boundary of the plates shifted, triggering the sudden displacement of a huge volume of water.
Waves as high as six meters (20 feet) thundered into eight countries and swept away tourists, fishermen, hotels, homes and cars.
In Thailand, where tourist season at tropical beaches is at its peak as Europeans escape frigid winters, a government disaster center said 430 people were killed and more than 4,100 injured.
Thai warships steamed toward islands to rescue survivors, at least 200 of whom were evacuated by helicopter from Phi Phi island -- where "The Beach" starring Leonardo DiCaprio was filmed.
Witnesses in Thailand described seeing waters disappearing away from the beaches in the minutes before the waves struck. Scientists say the effect is caused by tidal waves s__________g shallow coastal waters out to sea before returning them as a massive wall of water.
"The water went back, back, back, so far away, and everyone wondered what it was -- a full moon or what? Then we saw the wave come, and we ran," said Katri Seppanen, who was on et island's popular Patong beach with her family when the wave washed over their heads and separated them. They found each other two hours later.
Nationalities of the dead remained mostly unknown, but the United States said three Americans were killed. Denmark said two of its citizens perished, and New Zealand reported one national dead. Also among the missing, injured or dead were nationals of South Korea, Japan, Germany, South Africa, Hong Kong, Britain, Australia, Malaysia, Mexico, Russia, Sweden, Chile, Thai media reported.
In India, the waves swept away boats, homes and vehicles, killing at least 2,284 people -- most of the victims in Tamil Nadu state, officials said. At least 20,000 people were evacuated, officials said.
In Malaysia, at least 48 people, including foreign tourists swimming or riding jetskis, were killed on the resort island of Penang, officials said. Two people were killed in Bangladesh.
U.S. President George W. Bush expressed his condolences over the "terrible loss of life and suffering" caused by the quake and waves.
From the Vatican, Pope John Paul II led appeals for aid for victims, and the 25-nation European Union promised to quickly deliver euro3 million (US$4 million).
"The Christmas holiday has been saddened by the news that comes from Southeast Asia about the powerful earthquake," the pontiff said.
http://www.orlandosentinel.com/news...22604,0,2771018.story?coll=orl-home-headlines
Quakes' tidal waves kill more than 13,000
COLOMBO, Sri Lanka -- Rescuers scoured waterlogged coasts across Asia on Monday after an earthquake of epic power struck below the Indian Ocean and sent huge walls of water crashing onto beaches in eight countries, killing more than 13,344 people and leaving millions homeless.
The death toll along southern shores of Asia -- and as far west as Somalia on the African coast, where nine were reported killed -- increased steadily as authorities sorted out a far-flung disaster caused by the 9.0-magnitude earthquake, the world's strongest in 40 years.
Worst-hit Sri Lanka and Indonesia had at least a million people each driven from their homes. Warships in Thailand steamed to remote tropical island resorts to search for survivors as air force helicopters in Sri Lanka and India rushed food and medicine to stricken areas.
Indonesia, Sri Lanka and India each reported thousands dead, and Thailand -- a Western tourist hotspot -- said hundreds were dead and thousands missing. Malaysia, Maldives and Bangladesh also reported deaths.
The earthquake hit at 6:58 a.m. (0058GMT) Sunday off the west coast of the Indonesian island of Sumatra. The tsunami came as much as 2 1-2 hours later, without warning, on a morning of crystal blue skies. Sunbathers and snorkelers, cars and cottages, fishing boats and even a lighthouse were swept away.
"It's an extraordinary calamity of such colossal proportions that the damage has been unprecedented," said Chief Minister Jayaram Jayalalithaa of India's southern state of Tamil Nadu, where beaches turned into open-air mortuaries.
"It all seems to have happened in the space of 20 minutes. A massive tidal wave of extreme ferocity ... smashed everything in sight to smithereens," she said.
Sri Lanka -- an island nation some 1,600 kilometers (1,000 miles) west of the epicenter -- had a death toll of at least 6,090, with 4,590 reported killed in government-controlled areas and at least 1,500 in Tamil rebel-controlled territory. Some 1 million people were displaced.
About 25,000 troops were deployed Monday to crack down on sporadic, small-scale looting in Sri Lanka's coastal areas and help in rescue efforts as helicopters dropped medicine and rescue teams to remote areas. About 200 inmates took advantage of the chaos, escaping from a prison in coastal Matara.
Sri Lanka's government declared a national disaster. So did the neighboring Maldives, a low-lying string of 1,192 coral atolls where 32 people were killed and power was cut by the rushing waters.
The U.S. Geological Survey said the quake's magnitude was 9.0 -- the strongest since a 9.2 magnitude temblor in Alaska in 1964, and the fourth-largest in a century. The quake was nearly 10 kilometers (6 miles) deep and was followed by a half-dozen powerful aftershocks.
Traveling at nearly jetliner speeds, the first huge waves began pummeling southern Thailand an hour after the quake. In 2 1/2 hours, the torrents had traveled some 1,600 kilometers (1,000 miles) and slammed India and Sri Lanka. They eventually struck Somalia.
Towns in Indonesia's Aceh province on Sumatra, the closest land to the earthquake's epicenter, were swamped by the waves. The Health Ministry said at least 4,448 people were killed in Indonesia, hundreds missing and a million left homeless. A reporter for The Associated Press saw bodies wedged into trees in one village, apparently left there by receding waters.
The quake occurred where several geological plates push against each other with massive force. The U.S. Geological Survey said a 1,000-kilometer (620-mile) section along the boundary of the plates shifted, triggering the sudden displacement of a huge volume of water.
Waves as high as six meters (20 feet) thundered into eight countries and swept away tourists, fishermen, hotels, homes and cars.
In Thailand, where tourist season at tropical beaches is at its peak as Europeans escape frigid winters, a government disaster center said 430 people were killed and more than 4,100 injured.
Thai warships steamed toward islands to rescue survivors, at least 200 of whom were evacuated by helicopter from Phi Phi island -- where "The Beach" starring Leonardo DiCaprio was filmed.
Witnesses in Thailand described seeing waters disappearing away from the beaches in the minutes before the waves struck. Scientists say the effect is caused by tidal waves s__________g shallow coastal waters out to sea before returning them as a massive wall of water.
"The water went back, back, back, so far away, and everyone wondered what it was -- a full moon or what? Then we saw the wave come, and we ran," said Katri Seppanen, who was on et island's popular Patong beach with her family when the wave washed over their heads and separated them. They found each other two hours later.
Nationalities of the dead remained mostly unknown, but the United States said three Americans were killed. Denmark said two of its citizens perished, and New Zealand reported one national dead. Also among the missing, injured or dead were nationals of South Korea, Japan, Germany, South Africa, Hong Kong, Britain, Australia, Malaysia, Mexico, Russia, Sweden, Chile, Thai media reported.
In India, the waves swept away boats, homes and vehicles, killing at least 2,284 people -- most of the victims in Tamil Nadu state, officials said. At least 20,000 people were evacuated, officials said.
In Malaysia, at least 48 people, including foreign tourists swimming or riding jetskis, were killed on the resort island of Penang, officials said. Two people were killed in Bangladesh.
U.S. President George W. Bush expressed his condolences over the "terrible loss of life and suffering" caused by the quake and waves.
From the Vatican, Pope John Paul II led appeals for aid for victims, and the 25-nation European Union promised to quickly deliver euro3 million (US$4 million).
"The Christmas holiday has been saddened by the news that comes from Southeast Asia about the powerful earthquake," the pontiff said.
![Dean[AU]](https://d3ofq03apmfb8c.cloudfront.net/data/avatars/m/8/8019.jpg?1339212325){kind=avatar}
