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As of today, the death toll from the tsunami disaster exceeds 80,000. I have never heard of so many deaths from a disaster. This is incredibly tragic. Some believe that the numbers will pass 100,000 when the resultant infectious diseases are taken into consideration.

There were more people killed in this short disaster than were  killed in the Vietnam war over an 8 year time period  (Between 70 to 80 thousand American soldiers if I remember correctly). Imagine the number of people killed on 9/11 and multiply that by 26. That is the death toll thus far from the tsunami disaster. Truly hard to comprehend. God bless the victims and their families.

Zack

... in response to God bless the tsunami vicitms and famili..., posted by zack on Dec 29, 2004

I know you mean well but I don't understand this saying "God bless" in these circumstances, because it is pretty clear that in most cases God certainly didn't bless anyone affected by this tragedy.  I guess "Gob have mercy" or something would be more appropriate but you don't hear that as much.

... in response to God bless the tsunami vicitms and famili..., posted by zack on Dec 29, 2004

I could be wrong but 70 to 80 thousand American soldiers killed does not make the number smaller that 100,000 unless you don't include the number of North and South Vietnamese killed in the Vietnam war.  

That's like saying that 1,200 people have been killed in Iraq but that's only if you ignore Iraqi casualties.  

The Tsunami is certainly a tragedy of epic proportions.  

... in response to Re: God bless the tsunami vicitms and fa..., posted by kented on Dec 29, 2004

I don't think his numerical comparison of casualties was politically motivated.

It was only intended to help the reader visualize the magnitude of the catastrophe.  

... in response to Re: Re: God bless the tsunami vicitms an..., posted by doombug on Dec 29, 2004

Exactly.

I think a better analogy is to imagine a professional football stadium packed to capacity, some of which seat 80 thousand people, suddenly being wiped out within an hour. The sorrow those people must feel is hard to imagine.

... in response to Re: Re: Re: God bless the tsunami vicitm..., posted by zack on Dec 29, 2004

One of the downsides of the relief effort will be all of the phony charities that spring up.

... in response to Re: Re: Re: Re: God bless the tsunami vi..., posted by doombug on Dec 29, 2004

The level that some people will sink to for the almighty dollar doesn't cease to amaze me.

... in response to God bless the tsunami vicitms and famili..., posted by zack on Dec 29, 2004

Actually it seems it will go a lot higher, because scores of people are still officially missing, many victims were in remote areas, and there are no resources and infrastructure to cope with helping the victims and buring the dead.  And the fact that this happened so suddenly and out of the blue certainly contributed.

However, I think that when China had a really really big earthquake sometime in late 60's, their death toll could still be higher.  And the total number of people killed in Vietnam war was actually in the millions, but that's beside the point.  

I am actually afraid that Zarqawi & Co will attempt to do something truely horrific to bring public attention back to their deal - the absence of it will suffocate them.  If not for Al-Jazeera creeps who gladly show them every chance they get, they would have been completely marginalized by now.

... in response to Re: God bless the tsunami vicitms and fa..., posted by thunderbolt on Dec 29, 2004

I am not a historian and I know this is beside the point, but are you sure the death toll from the Vietnam war is in the millions? I remember reading that 70 to 80 thousand Americans were killed and several hundred thousand Vietnamese were killed.

I am not very familiar (as of yet) with the Zarqawi & Co and Al-Jazeera issues, but I'm sure I will be soon.

Zack

... in response to Re: Re: God bless the tsunami vicitms an..., posted by zack on Dec 29, 2004

Zarqawi/Osama is to Al-Jazeera what Li'l Kim (North Korean) is to North Korean TV, in case you haven't noticed ;)

Regarding Vietnamese numbers...  In truth, you can't really get precise numbers, because nobody kept precise records.  From what I know, it was 3-4 million.

... in response to Re: Re: God bless the tsunami vicitms an..., posted by zack on Dec 29, 2004

58,000 U.S. casualties.

... in response to Re: God bless the tsunami vicitms and fa..., posted by thunderbolt on Dec 29, 2004

Rent "Control Room."  It's an inside look at the "impartial" Al-Jazeera at work.

I think John Walker Lindh is one of their field correspondents.

... in response to God bless the tsunami vicitms and famili..., posted by zack on Dec 29, 2004

http://www.networkforgood.org/topics/international/earthquake/tsunami122604.aspx

... in response to Re: God bless the tsunami vicitms and fa..., posted by Brassa on Dec 29, 2004

[This message has been edited by Gary Bala]

Another site for those considering donations to help the
victims of the tsunamis is that of the US AID Development
Agency, which lists groups of long-established reputation
assisting people on the ground. My mother's family comes
from the coastal state of India badly hit by the storms,
so I have been personally touched by this tragedy, which
probably ranks as one of the worst natural disasters
in world history.

http://www.usaid.gov/locations/asia_near_east/tsunami/

... in response to Re: Re: God bless the tsunami vicitms an..., posted by Gary Bala on Dec 29, 2004

Gary,

I hope all is well with your family and friends. The good news is the that world respense to this tragedy is "unprecedented" according to the news. Over 500 million dollars has been raised worldwide thus far.

Zack

... in response to Re: Re: God bless the tsunami vicitms an..., posted by Gary Bala on Dec 29, 2004

Gary - I hope all is well with any of your relatives in India.  Unbelievable what has happened there...

... in response to Re: Re: Re: God bless the tsunami vicitm..., posted by Edge on Dec 30, 2004

Thanks, Edge and Zack, for the sympathies.

One of my uncles owned a home on
the coastline which was obviously wiped out,
but he and others are out of danger for now.

Yes, the worldwide effort and coalition is
huge and unprecedented, but the final
count of damage will probably be into
the billions spread over 11 countries, with untold
loss of life and injury. Long term reconstruction
will take years. As President Bush said, everyone
believes though that in the end the community
of nations will prevail over the destruction.

I also hope that a worldwide disaster warning
system can be devised to help people protect
themselves against future disasters.
Gary

... in response to Re: Re: Re: Re: God bless the tsunami vi..., posted by Gary Bala on Dec 30, 2004

Gary,

Actually, warning devices for tsunamis already exist. I'm assuming that the rareity of tsunamis is what prevented them from being implemented. They are floating devices that are placed several miles from the shore line which sense severe changes in wave height, which in turn sounds an alarm. Only a 15 minute warning would have saved the lives of most of the victims (sad to think about). I would guess that after this event they will be implemented permanently in high risk areas.

Zack

... in response to Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: God bless the tsunam..., posted by zack on Dec 30, 2004

Thanks for the info.

Yes, I was aware that such a floating device system
relaying data signals to orbiting satellites gives tsunami
warnings in the Pacific Ocean, and has dramatically
cut down injury and death for example in the Hawaiian
Island chain.

I was referring more to a global wide system
covering all continents and oceans and
covering all types of disasters, paid for by all
of the world's countries, which would all then
benefit from the warnings. Also, new imaginative
ways need to be investigated concerning warning
of major disasters. For example, reports are that some
wild animals in the Indian Ocean sensed an impending storm
with their built-in radar, and moved inland to avoid injury.
Maybe just studying wild life movement and migration can
give some clues to on-coming disasters.

The UN will hold a World Conference on Disaster Reduction
from Jan. 18 to 22, 2005 in Kobe, Japan, site of the Jan. 1995
earthquake, and all the top global climate and warning experts
will discuss all this, and hopefully something good will come from it.

Thanks again.