8.9 quake in Sumatra...

[KeiFront]

That's the problem with earthquake's they are impossible to predict, let's hope that we'll find a way to predict them in the future.

[Dr Mordrid]

Agreed!!

Tsunami's often race across the ocean at over 500mph, but even so a decent warning system could have given those along the Indian Oceans coastline (among other places) a couple of hours to get out of the way.

Dr. Mordrid

[The PIT]

Education would help as well as quite a few went down to the beach to watch.

Even I know if I see the sea recede it's time to leg it too some higher ground.

[Lizzard[MPE]]

Sri Lanka: 13,000 dead
Indonesia: 4,500 dead
India: 3,500 dead
Thailand: 866 dead
Maldives: 52 dead
Malaysia: 44 dead
Burma: 30 dead
Bangladesh: 2 dead

[Liquid Snake]

Damn, that's bad

[Novdid]

They say more than 25000 confirmed dead. 16000 of them in Sri Lanka.

[The PIT]

Krakatoa killed 36,000 sadly it's going to be close.

[Helevitia]

What a horrible tragedy. If anyone here knows anyone that was effected, please pass along my sympathies


When I was 14, I lived in Hawaii and the warning sirens went off one day. I thought it was odd since it wasn't the first Sunday of the month, which is the day they test the sirens. I turned on the TV and to my shock, they were telling everyone around the beach area to evacuate to higher ground because Alaska just had an Earthquake and a Tsunami was heading our way.

We had about 3 hours before it would hit land. I remember my parents racing home and packing some food and a few other things. We all headed up the mountain to a safer location. We met up with some other friends and we all waited for the next few hours.

There were several hundred of us sitting on the side of the mountain, looking down at the sea, listening to the DJ on the radio talk about what a Tsunami is and what they expected to happen around 5:01pm that afternoon.

I remember trying to envision a 600MPH wave up to 300ft high coming into the islands and wiping out everything. It was hard to imagine.

5:00pm came and the DJ says, "OK, this is it folks, the last minute....I hope all of you that needed to evacuate did". He goes silent as there really wasn't anything left to say, so we all sat silent and waited.

5:01pm: I remember feeling tense, waiting to see this gigantic wave come over the horizon. Nobody spoke.

5:02pm: DJ says, "Not sure what is going on here, but I haven't seen anything yet".

5:03pm: "OK folks, looks like they are saying we were hit by the Tsunami at 5:01pm but it only dropped the water about 3-6ft and the wave was only 3ft high. They advise to wait another 15 minutes and then it will be OK to head back to your home".

Man, all that anticipation and build up. I was pleased that nothing bad had happened. Now, when I read about this new Tsunami, I realize how lucky I really was and how bad it really could have been.

[Novdid]

Not to be coldhearted or anything, imagine what that 9p quake would do if it hit land in that area. The area is very densely popluted and the houses are not as well built as in Japan or California. It could've killed many many more.

Just look at the quake in Bam, 30000 dead in a city with a total popultion of 80000...

[Jon P. Inghram]

Tambora's 1812 eruption killed far more than Krakatoa, 10,000 directly and more than 80,000 from famine, and that's not counting possible global environmental effects from the significantly larger eruption.

[KvHagedorn]

Indonesian volcano names all sound apocalyptic.

[James_D]

The grim toll has reached 30000, and The Red Cross estimates at least 60000 dead.

In addition, there will be severe epidemics if relief is not brought to the affected population .

If you want to help please donate to Red cross, or some other relief organisation.

http://www.redcross.org/donate/donate.html

JD

[Technoid]

Originally posted by Dr Mordrid
You aren't the only one!!

The last time the Toba supervolcano let go (~75,000 years ago) it reduced the human population of Earth to about 2,000-5,000....TOTAL!!

IIRC that eruption was 10,000 times the size of Mt. St. Helens last pop.

Dr. Mordrid

Uhm, did Timetravel HQ send someone to do a headcount?

[cjolley]

Originally posted by Technoid
Uhm, did Timetravel HQ send someone to do a headcount?

Nope, Doc is just really old.
Chuck

[Technoid]

Originally posted by cjolley
Nope, Doc is just really old.
Chuck

Ahhh

That Explaines it