Indian Ocean Tsunami

I guess everyone has been hearing about the catastrophe across the
Indian Ocean since Boxing Day. The news keeps getting worse and worse
but, thankfully the international community is digging into its pockets

• and that's what i'm urging people to do here :smile:

I know some of my friends were lucky to escape in Phuket (Thailand) and
we have members close to and located in some of the countries hit by
the waves. Foreign tourists, Americans, Brits, Sweden and the
Scandinavian states all have lost citizens too. Near enough 150,000
people have already died, economies, cities, towns, villages have been
wiped off the map - 5m people are without homes and face destitution.

So if you have any spare pennies - now is the time to give them to people who REALLY need them to survive the coming weeks.

If you haven't heard..

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/asia-pacific/4136153.stm

I've very little money as it is, although I'd like to give something nearer my payday.

It seems utterly irionic that it happened at christmas, and I feel for the familys who's christmas is something quite different as a result of this. Who's life, will be utterly different as a result of this.

This is a terrible tragedy, and I hope no-one here has been affected by it. It seems that right now the thing they need out there the most is manpower to shift the aid!

/is proud to come from a country which has donated so much, too

Every time I hear about this on the
news, they're assholish enough to bring it back to be just about
Americans and it's incredibly annoying. (Our news is terrible if you
haven't noticed.)

Also, I've always wondered ... what the hell
is boxing day?

I have NO MONEY!!! But i am selling my Milling Machine on ebay. So I will be able to donate soon hopefully! Milling Machines are EXPENSIVE!

NOTE> boxing day is some Canadian thing i believe. So it's probably where everyone says "happee boxin' deh, eh!" with canadian accent

I have no money cos I'm a poor student but if I could give some I would it was a bloody tradegy what happend out there but as lep said I think they need some more man power out there cos from what ive seen they still have bodys lieing in the streets.

As for boxing day i have no idea my guees are that you can bead someone up as long as you make it look like a boxing match or its the day to get rid of all the boxes you aquired the day before I just like it cos of the sales cheap s**t YAY my favorite type

Those countries are Hindu, Buddhist or Muslim so it didn't affect christmas, still a pretty s**t deal any time of the year.

Boxing Day is so called because of boxes servants would recieve from
housemasters with gifts, or to pack stuff into. Something like that.

Anyone want to buy my milling machine? :biggrin: I'll donate 50%

The people over here need the aid desperately. The waves struck in a
neighbouring state to where I live. The actual damage is unbelievable.
The local governments are not reporting the entire damage (in human
lives or otherwise) to avoid panic and rioting. The numbers are only
going to go up over the next few days and weeks. :sad: The main threat
over the next few weeks is actually going to be disease, because of all
the corpses on the streets and under the rubble etc.

If you know anyone around these parts personally please try and contact them and make sure they're all right.

If any of you guys are donating, please go through a proper
organisation like the Red Cross or an NGO. There are a lot of small
NGOs working actively and they need all the help they can get. The
needs of the hour are manpower, money, food, clothing, medical supplies
etc. I'm not sure how much stuff you can send besides money, because
most of the rest are not possible or will get destroyed on the way.

(I feel like an asshole not really doing anything to help, but we are
planning on organising a trip around here to collect materials to
donate. So far all I've done is talk, and feel like an absolute ass. Makes me feel like I'm totally useless.)

Be careful to whom you donate. Unfortunately, there
are also a lot of organisations cheating people and making a quick buck
:sad: . I've seen some very sad things going on in the name of disaster
relief.

This truly is one terrible accident. I have to admit I'm not following
the events very closly. 150,000 souls, that's quite a lot :sad: .

I'm donating money right away. Not much, but at least something.

i would but i have not a penny to spare cries wishes many lux on donations

I hope no one at SnarkPit has suffered personal losses due to the recent tragedy. I read this morning that there are more than 2500 Swedish citizens missing from Indonesia and Thailand. The Swedes are well-represented in the mapping community, and I sincerely wish that everyone and their family members have escaped the catastrophe unscathed.

And I am ashamed to be an American. Every other country has donated more financial support than the States (calculated on a per-individual basis). George W. Bush is quick to declare war on another country, but too stingy to lend a helping hand.

You picked poor timing for that post. Just a short while ago US funding was increased from $35 million to $350 million, bringing the total to something like $800 million, I think.

Although we all know the reasons behind the increased donation at this point in time. Because they didnt donate much initially, it makes them look bad. I believe it was sheerly an attempt to put america in the limelight, again. They must be one of the top 5 richest nations. They could easily donate ten times that amount.

I'm glad you know how the US political system works, seeing as you are from the UK. :rolleyes: and when did the US worry about looking bad in the eyes of the international community? Remember that little thing called Iraq...

Just my opinion.

SnarkPit members seem to have gone through this without personal loss. My friends cousin got out of there just in time. That's the closest any disaster has come to me.

I would pray for the dead if I were religious, but since I'm not I will only hope that the ones lost will be found alive.

I hope no one at SnarkPit has suffered personal losses due to
the recent tragedy. I read this morning that there are more than 2500
Swedish citizens missing from Indonesia and Thailand. The Swedes are
well-represented in the mapping community, and I sincerely wish that
everyone and their family members have escaped the catastrophe
unscathed.

On the news about an hour ago I heard that 3559 swedes were reported
missing, I think. I myself have no close friends or family over there
and I'm very glad I don't. I can imagine how hard it must be for those
who have. I think Sweden has donated about 20 million SEK or around $3
million.

if what was really only a little ripple in the grander scale of things can cause so much devastation and tradgedy, then i hope i dont see the day when something really major happens. and with such a large movement in the tectonic plates from the quake, there are almost certainly more to come along some of the other main fault lines in the next few weeks. though i truely hope i'm wrong on that.

i only have 2 things to say at this point.

1) i am so glad to hear that Master Fragman is OK.. i was quite worried when i heard the location of this mishap.

2) i am so disappointed in the world for all the crying over the USA's seemingly lack of support. when it comes to blame, everyone points the finger here. it doesn't seem to matter what the subject matter is.. i am so surprised that someone didn't actually blame the US for the earthquake. :rolleyes:

i wish just once that the f**king world would worry, without the need or bother to point fingers.

I believe most of the finger pointing is because the US National
Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration had advance warning of the
Tsunami (USAToday.com had an article). But since Sri Lanka, Indonesia,
India, etc were not members of an international disaster response
scheme, there were no fixed methods for calling in national alerts and
starting evacuation quickly. So the information never reached anyone.
Basically, the entire disaster was completely preventable except at the
immediate epicentre.

Our own administration failed as well. From the time the Andamans were
hit, till the time the mainland was hit, there was a 1 hour gap. Alert
systems went up, but the alerts went to the wrong people. The local
emergency teams did not have ways to contact members of the new
administration (our govt changed in 2004, the new contacts weren't
maintained).

All this was preventable, but there is no use now. All anyone can do is
to try their best to prevent future accidents like this. I feel it's no
use blaming anyone. Such a disaster was unexpected and considering the
state our economy is in, I doubt much could have been done even if any
emergency systems were in. It's totally pointless to claim that the US
is not being supportive enough.

Lots of people here share my views. In fact, I haven't heard of any of
the people in the affected areas blaming the US for a lack of aid
material.

I can understand why people are saying this though. The US
administration has been meddling constantly in Indo-Pak affairs, and
has recently supplied Pakistan with some heavy weaponry. This has been
a very sensitive issue of late. And then when the tsunami hit, the
official US response was pretty weak. It took a while for any major
funding to come in. Complaints were inevitable. And the US foreign
policy in this region has not exactly been helpful.

Note: I have no anti-Pak bias whatsoever. Might be tough to believe coming from an Indian, but it's true.

bottomline, i trust you frag, so i believe you.

i listened to the reports via NPR radio over my last run, and the complaints i heard were not shocking, but continuous. i got so damned tired of hearing how we were this or that. the US isn't Mr. Popular for sure, but humanitarian aide has always been our trademark signature.

anywho's, i am just happy you are safe. that may sound a bit self centered cause so many died, but i know you, not them. i feel for them, but care for you.

/ends mushy stuff.

The Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, from the sound of it, did all it could - it sounded like they had to relay calls through Australia and it wasn't until after the major damage occurred that people from Sri Lanka and a couple other countries contacted them. Even then, it is the US National OAA, and unfortunately they just aren't equipped to deal with disasters much outside of the Atlantic and Pacific - they had two hours warning, but even then they had to make multiple calls changing and upgrading the response status and by the time they got a full grasp on what was happening it was too late. :sad: This should definitely bring to light that there's a need for some much improved coverage worldwide.

The original US response was pretty pathetic, but even if this $350 million is just for the sake of saving face, does it really matter? It's still a hell of a lot more help to people who need it. There's some shifty people trying to make themselves look good, but unfortunately this isn't a good time to spend a lot of time calling them on it - that aid is needed, regardless of where it comes from and why.

fraggard: I believe you too. :smile: Thought hadn't even crossed my mind, to be honest.

they're predicting earthquakes now? I don't follow.
I don't like the fact that lots of ppl died, it makes me sad. But, There are other reasons that the US could have donated a smaller amunt initially and then a larger amount. As it turns out, Senate must be called into session before any funds can be appropriated for anything, The initial $35mil appropriated because reports were that 7,000 people were dead, that is back when we thought the death toll was very much smaller than it was. When we realized the full extent of the damage, there was a session called in the appropriations commitee and more money was sent. Our news here in the US is just s**t, so most americans are led to beleive that someone is trying o cover up and make themselves look better, that's not it at all.

they're predicting earthquakes now? I don't follow.

Well, kinda.

There's still very little that allows earthquake prediction, but certain movements can give hints that something bigger is on the way. In this case, the prediction (or lack thereof) was not of the earthquake, but the resulting tsunami. The earthquake was registered immediately by seismic sensors, and that gave warning to a potential tsunami, though the NOAA's equipment and coverage in the area didn't give them enough information to fully grasp what was about to happen.

Usually it takes hours for the waves to hit shore after an undersea earthquake.

oh. I sure didnt think they could predict them, but it would sure be nice if they could

<DIV class=quote>
<DIV class=quotetitle>? quoting Nickelplate</DIV>
<DIV class=quotetext>oh. I sure didnt think they could predict them, but it would sure be nice if they could </DIV></DIV>

why? you're no where near "New Madrid" so you'll never feel it next time it goes :heee:

/runs

trivia time

New Madrid suffered the biggest earth quake in recorded history in the USA. the devastation was monumental, but fortunately it is located in what is still a sparsely populated region of the US.
look it up, it is a fascinating read.

There was actually a small earthquake in Illinois (felt all the way up here to Madison and beyond, though I didn't personally feel it) not long after I moved up here. I moved up the day a tornado hit and then there was this earthquake the next monday (my birthday, no less) so I was convinced I had brought death and destruction to Wisconsin. :razz: There was one felt back in Nebraska like a week later. I was scared. :X

<DIV class=quote>
<DIV class=quotetitle>? quoting Orpheus</DIV>
<DIV class=quotetext>
<DIV class=quote>
<DIV class=quotetitle>? quoting Nickelplate</DIV>
<DIV class=quotetext>oh. I sure didnt think they could predict them, but it would sure be nice if they could </DIV></DIV>

why? you're no where near "New Madrid" so you'll never feel it next time it goes :heee:

/runs

trivia time

New Madrid suffered the biggest earth quake in recorded history in the USA. the devastation was monumental, but fortunately it is located in what is still a sparsely populated region of the US.
look it up, it is a fascinating read.

</DIV></DIV>
I know about the new madrid fault. I don't get what you're3 trying to say. ???

<DIV class=quote>
<DIV class=quotetitle>? quoting Nickelplate</DIV>
<DIV class=quotetext>
I know about the new madrid fault. I don't get what you're3 trying to say. ???

</DIV></DIV>

thats OK, being from Missouri I wouldn't expect anything more :heee:
/runs south