http://olympics.reuters.com/newsArti...toryID=7178847

"COLOMBO (Reuters) - A huge earthquake hit southern Asia on Sunday, setting
off a tsunami that drowned hundreds in Sri Lanka and India, sent Indonesians
rushing to high ground and washed away bathers on the Thai tourist island of
Phuket. "

------------------------------

ISTR watching a programme about Tsunamis warning about this sort of disaster
for underdeveloped areas without mass communications.

cupra wrote:

http://olympics.reuters.com/newsArti...toryID=7178847

"COLOMBO (Reuters) - A huge earthquake hit southern Asia on Sunday,
setting
off a tsunami that drowned hundreds in Sri Lanka and India, sent
Indonesians
rushing to high ground and washed away bathers on the Thai tourist
island of
Phuket. "

------------------------------

ISTR watching a programme about Tsunamis warning about this sort of
disaster
for underdeveloped areas without mass communications.

Yes, I understand it was 8.5 on the richter scale and many hundreds of
folk are dead, but I think the BBC radio presenters should refrain from
making statements to the effect that "it could not have come at a worse
time, when thousands of Europeans are on holiday over there". (heard on
5 live this morning).

While we enjoy the seasonal weather here our hearts and sympathies must go
out to all those poor people affected by what is apparently the worst
earthquake in 40 years. I agree with you about any inappropriate comments
although in context they may have meant that lots of Europeans may have lost
their lives as well. It is equally tragic for whoever is affected. I am very
fortunate in that my wife and her sister were due to have "a holiday of a
lifetime" in Sri Lanka and The Maldives next week. Thankfully they will be
ok and are now more concerned about those affected.

Dave
wrote in message
oups.com...

cupra wrote:

http://olympics.reuters.com/newsArti...toryID=7178847

"COLOMBO (Reuters) - A huge earthquake hit southern Asia on Sunday,
setting
off a tsunami that drowned hundreds in Sri Lanka and India, sent
Indonesians
rushing to high ground and washed away bathers on the Thai tourist
island of
Phuket. "

------------------------------

ISTR watching a programme about Tsunamis warning about this sort of
disaster
for underdeveloped areas without mass communications.

Yes, I understand it was 8.5 on the richter scale and many hundreds of
folk are dead, but I think the BBC radio presenters should refrain from
making statements to the effect that "it could not have come at a worse
time, when thousands of Europeans are on holiday over there". (heard on
5 live this morning).

"Dave.C" wrote in message
k

While we enjoy the seasonal weather here our hearts and sympathies must go
out to all those poor people affected by what is apparently the worst
earthquake in 40 years. I agree with you about any inappropriate comments
although in context they may have meant that lots of Europeans may have lost
their lives as well. It is equally tragic for whoever is affected. I am very
fortunate in that my wife and her sister were due to have "a holiday of a
lifetime" in Sri Lanka and The Maldives next week. Thankfully they will be
ok and are now more concerned about those affected.

Dave



http://groups.google.co.uk/groups?hl...dividual .net

Worrying times :-(

Jon.


--
Posted via Mailgate.ORG Server - http://www.Mailgate.ORG

"Jon O Rourke" wrote
http://groups.google.co.uk/groups?hl...dividual .net

Worrying times :-(

I think we must allow ourselves to be concerned about one
of our own. I just hope Joe was on the west coast, i.e.
round the corner, and therefore relatively safe.

Philip Eden

Jon, does anyone here have any contact with Joe outside of this group?




"Jon O Rourke" wrote in message
news:b93bcb37805ee163b46220166b28f6ad.62236@mygate .mailgate.org...
"Dave.C" wrote in message
k

While we enjoy the seasonal weather here our hearts and sympathies must
go
out to all those poor people affected by what is apparently the worst
earthquake in 40 years. I agree with you about any inappropriate comments
although in context they may have meant that lots of Europeans may have
lost
their lives as well. It is equally tragic for whoever is affected. I am
very
fortunate in that my wife and her sister were due to have "a holiday of a
lifetime" in Sri Lanka and The Maldives next week. Thankfully they will
be
ok and are now more concerned about those affected.

Dave



http://groups.google.co.uk/groups?hl...dividual .net

Worrying times :-(

Jon.


--
Posted via Mailgate.ORG Server - http://www.Mailgate.ORG

"Lawrence Jenkins" wrote in message
news:1104067600.0546f926fba76d4126524fd1a133b24f@1 usenet

Jon, does anyone here have any contact with Joe outside of this group?


Yes, a few, Lawrence. I will check to see when Joe was due back
from Sri Lanka. AFAIK he and his family were on the western side so
should've escaped the worst of the effects.

Jon.


--
Posted via Mailgate.ORG Server - http://www.Mailgate.ORG

Hi,

lifetime" in Sri Lanka and The Maldives next week. Thankfully they will be
ok and are now more concerned about those affected.

At the moment I'm worrying about my sister and her boyfriend as they are in
Thailand at the moment. They were moving on from Bangkok, and I'm just
hoping they didn't move onto that coastline. Being as they are, we have no
way of contacting them or knowing where exactly they went.

Simon

"crazy_horse_12002" wrote in message
oups.com

I think the BBC radio presenters should refrain from
making statements to the effect that "it could not have come at a worse
time, when thousands of Europeans are on holiday over there". (heard on
5 live this morning)

Nothing like good old fashioned clonialism to turn back the clock and
focus on the more important things, is there?

The biggest tragedy is that this following could all have been
anticipated -at least in part.

From the OP:

http://olympics.reuters.com/newsArti...toryID=7178847

COLOMBO (Reuters) - A huge earthquake hit southern Asia on Sunday,
setting off a tsunami that drowned hundreds in Sri Lanka and India, sent
Indonesians rushing to high ground and washed away bathers on the Thai
tourist island of Phuket.

The earthquake of magnitude 8.5 as measured by the U.S. Geological
Survey first struck at 7:59 a.m. (0059 GMT) off the coast of the
northern Indonesian island of Sumatra and swung north with multiple
tremors into the Andaman islands in the Indian Ocean.

A wall of water up to 10 meters (30 feet) high set off by the tremor
swept into Indonesia, over the coast of Sri Lanka and India and along
the southern Thai tourist island of Phuket, leaving at least 650 people
feared dead, officials said.

"Nothing like this has ever happened in our country before," said Thai
Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra.

The earthquake was the world's biggest since 1965, said Julie Martinez,
geophysicist for the U.S. Geological Survey. "It is multiple earthquakes
along the same faultline," she said.

The worst-hit area appeared to be the tourist region of Sri Lanka's
south and east and the chairman of the John Keells hotel chain said five
of his hotels had been badly flooded.

At least 500 were feared dead in Sri Lanka, the National Disaster
Management Center said.

"The army and the navy have sent rescue teams, we have deployed over
four choppers and half the navy's eastern fleet to look for survivors,"
said military spokesman Brigadier Daya Ratnayake.

An official in eastern Trincomalee said 3,000 people had been displaced
and six villages destroyed.

Along the southern Indian coast, as many as 74 people were killed and
many injured by a tsunami there, hospital and government officials said.

BIG PARTS OF MALDIVES UNDER WATER Continued ...




--
Posted via Mailgate.ORG Server - http://www.Mailgate.ORG

On Sun, 26 Dec 2004 11:42:18 +0000 (UTC), "Michael Mcneil"
wrote:


The biggest tragedy is that this following could all have been
anticipated -at least in part.

My immediate neighbours are on a beach holiday just outside Trivandrum
in Kerala just up on the west flank of India - where I was last
Christmas more or less. They telephoned this morning and said they
were completely unware of what had happened until hotel staff informed
everyone.
As far as early warnings are concerned I think there is a well
established tsunami early warning station in...Honolulu?...to warn of
things in the Pacific, but know of nothing in the India Ocean.
No doubt the time lag between event and coastal impact will become
clear.I thought I heard on Sky someone say the major wave was up to
three storeys high. Frightening.