Earthquake Thailand

[flguy]

Just saw that a huge earthquake, over 8.8, one of the largest ever recorded in the world. Hundreds of holiday hotel bungalows washed away. Do we know who from 'HooVille" was in Thailand at this time??? This was centered in the ocean and sent a 40 foot wave over land.

[JamesK840]

Earthquake ASIA

 

It sounds like far more then one country was affected. It was an 8.9, the biggest in 40 years. There are thousands dead in Sri Lanka, India and Indonesia, in addition to dead in Thailand, Malaysia and Bangladesh. The death toll stands at 7200 right now and is only likely to go up, and the fact that most died in Tsunami's means that many bodies may never be found...

 

I keep refreshing Google News to find out more, in the meantime, if anybody wants to help, I'm sure Red Cross is one of a dozen or more relief agencies scrambling to gather people together and start sending aid...

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

[jackhammer91406]

My good buddy, KY TOP is supposed to be there , although not sure which city. Really hope he will check in and let us know he is OK.

[trilingual]

The earthquake was felt in Bangkok, according to the news, but neither Bangkok (which is inland) or Pattaya, the nearby popular beach resort, were affected by the tsunamis. They're on the eastern side of the long peninsula of southern Thailand and Malaysia. Phuket, which was affected by the tsunamis, is on the western side of the peninsula, on the Indian Ocean side.

 

The effects have been felt far afield. BBCWorld read out e-mails from viewers in the Seychelles and Réunion, islands far to the west in the Indian ocean, off of Africa, that they experienced tsunamis, too. Don't know if there was much damage in mountainous Réunion, but supposedly there was flooding in the Seychelles, which are lower-lying, including in the capital. There are many remote areas around the Indian Ocean that may also have been hit, but that haven't been heard from yet.

 

The aftershocks are diminishing and the danger subsiding, it would seem. On CNN International a seismologist said that earthquakes below 7.0 on the Richter scale aren't strong enough to trigger a tsunami, and the latest aftershocks were around 6.0. So the immediate danger of additional tsunamis may be past.

[OneFinger]

All the Planet is Vibrating...

 

"All the planet is vibrating" from the quake, said Enzo Boschi, the head of Italy's National Geophysics Institute. Speaking on SKY TG24 TV, Boschi said the quake even disturbed the Earth's rotation.

 

http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=516&u=/ap/20041226/ap_on_re_as/indonesia_earthquake_4&printer=1

 

What a quake if it disturbed our rotation!!

[KY_TOP]

There are hundreds killed by Tidal Waves on the Coastal Islands. I felt it very strong here in Bangkok. I was in my hotel room on the 18th floor and I thought I was getting dizzy then the wood pull rods for the drapes starting banging against the window. It seemed to last a long time but it was probably multiplied in my room due to being on a higher floor. The city didn't even take note until the Tidal Waves hit several hours later. Over 10,000 now reported killed in the Asian Region, over 300 so far in Thailand.

 

My missing luggage seems to be so minor now.

[eastbayguy]

Here is the initial USGS summary on the quake:

 

http://earthquake.usgs.gov/eqinthenews/2004/usslav/

 

The epicenter of the quake was 780 miles SSW of Bangkok. Since the inverse square law applies, direct damage from the quake would have been limited in Bankgkok. Although, in some older high rise structures, the ground motion might well border on "terrifying". Especially on upper floors...

 

Looks like both voice and Internet access to Bangkok from the US are OK, although connections to points west of Bangkok are down. There is no communication at all with the Maldives. (an island chain)

 

Is Hoo still in Thailand?

 

--EBG

[+ deej]

>Is Hoo still in Thailand?

 

No. He posted in the asia forum a couple of days ago that he was leaving.

[Trixie]

So glad La Garbo vacated the premises! This is one of the World's great disasters that the US will hear next to nothing about. The second a loud noise causes a press corps member to drop his fork during lunch, the 12,000 dead in SE Asia will be pushed aside for yet another meaningless story about a "boom!" in Iraq.

 

 

La Trix

[Trixie]

RE: All the Planet is Vibrating...

 

I woke up last night thinking someone was throwing rocks at my window (somewhat wishfully). I'm sure I heard a loud cracking noise... about 1:15PST (I looked at the clock). Is that when the earthquake was? Could it have made noises even in California?

 

Trix

[Barry]

RE: All the Planet is Vibrating...

 

You should have looked out the window Trix. The earthquake took place at 04:58:50 PM (PST) so it most likely was an admirer you heard.

 

Barry

[eastbayguy]

>So glad La Garbo vacated the premises! This is one of the

>World's great disasters that the US will hear next to nothing

>about. The second a loud noise causes a press corps member to

>drop his fork during lunch, the 12,000 dead in SE Asia will be

>pushed aside for yet another meaningless story about a "boom!"

>in Iraq.

 

Your post got me thinking; How does this rank with other mega disasters over time? In my youth, I recall one of the great disasters being the eruption of the Krakatoa volcano in the late 1800s.

 

The death toll from this earthquake must be one of the greatest ever in world history. The press this morning is saying the dead number around 23,000 and the count is rising.

 

Among other things, expect the price of shrimp to rise, as the tidal wave apparently destroyed most of the world's shrimp farms. Other fish farming takes place in that region, so all fish and seafood prices may rise as well. I suspect we'll be counting up the ways this earthquake, tidal wave and resulting destruction affects us for some time to come.

 

Like you, I'm glad to no one from this site is among the dead. At least that we know of at this point. Sounds like just about everyone has checked in.

 

--EBG

[FourAces]

>

>Your post got me thinking; How does this rank with other mega

>disasters over time?

 

From CNN:

 

July 17, 1998, an offshore quake triggers a wave that strikes the north coast of Papua-New Guinea, killing some 2,000 people and leaving thousands more homeless.

 

August 16, 1976, a tsunami kills more than 5,000 people in the Moro Gulf region of the Philippines.

 

March 28, 1964, Good Friday earthquake in Alaska sends out a wave swamping much of the Alaskan coast and destroying three villages. The wave kills 107 people in Alaska, four in Oregon and 11 in California as it sweeps down the West Coast.

 

May 22, 1960, a wave reported as up to 35 feet high kills 1,000 in Chile and causes damage in Hawaii, where 61 die, and in the Philippines, Okinawa and Japan as it sweeps across the Pacific.

 

April 1, 1946, Alaskan quake generates a tsunami that destroys North Cape Lighthouse, killing five. Hours later the wave arrives at Hilo, Hawaii, killing 159 people and doing millions of dollars in damage.

 

January 31, 1906, a devastating offshore quake submerges part of Tumaco, Colombia, and washes away every house on the coast between Rioverde, Ecuador, and Micay, Colombia. Death toll estimated at 500 to 1,500.

 

December 17, 1896, a tsunami washes away part of the embankment and main boulevard of Santa Barbara, California.

 

June 15, 1896, the Sanriku tsunami strikes Japan without warning. A wave estimated at more than 70 feet high hits a crowd gathered to celebrate a religious festival, killing more than 26,000 people.

 

August 27, 1883, the eruption of the volcano Krakatau (also spelled "Krakatoa") generates a massive wave that sweeps over the shores of nearby Java and Sumatra, killing 36,000 people.

 

November 1, 1755, the great Lisbon earthquake generates a wave up to 20 feet high that strikes coastal Portugal, Spain and Morocco.

 

RT

[+ glutes]

RE: All the Planet is Vibrating...

 

4.3 Quake Hits North Of Sonoma County

Dec. 27 (BCN) — The United States Geological Service reports that a magnitude 4.3 earthquake struck three miles southwest of Anderson Springs, north of Sonoma County, at 2:36 a.m.

 

No damage was reported but dispatchers at Sonoma County Sheriff's Office reported feeling the quake.

[trilingual]

By any chance has anyone tried calling Sri Lanka and gotten through? One of my oldest friends winters there (as do a number of European gays) in a town not very far south of Colombo. Being on the west side of the island, I thought there wouldn't be a problem where he lives, but now I've read of damage in Colombo itself, so I want to check to see if he's OK. Not surprisingly, though, the lines seem to be jammed.

[Guest icon513]

>In my youth, I recall one of the great

>disasters being the eruption of the Krakatoa volcano in the

>late 1800s.

 

I thought *I* was old, and you're still going at over 100! Good on ya!

[eastbayguy]

>By any chance has anyone tried calling Sri Lanka and gotten

>through? One of my oldest friends winters there (as do a

>number of European gays) in a town not very far south of

>Colombo. Being on the west side of the island, I thought

>there wouldn't be a problem where he lives, but now I've read

>of damage in Colombo itself, so I want to check to see if he's

>OK. Not surprisingly, though, the lines seem to be jammed.

 

Tri--having been in the telecom business, I have lots of friends and contacts in the industry still. A friend of mine runs operations for one of the major carriers in the Asia/Pacific region. I just IMed with him, and he said that a couple of major cables in to Sri Lanka were severed and won't be fixed for weeks, at least. All connections to The Maldives are out entirely, still. Quite a lot of fiber was cut. Each cut requires dispatching at least one and often two ships and days to weeks on station to fix each cut. Understandably, the people who do these repairs are sketchy about dispatching their expensive repair ships in to the area until they are confident that aftershocks won't sink their ships or undo their repairs. Plus, cable landing sites are irrepairably damaged in a few cases, meaning whole new sites have to be built. Large areas are without electrical power. At least one power plant was simply washed away by the tsunami. (Didn't get details on where.)

 

If you need the Cliff Notes version, voice service in the affected area isn't going to get fixed very fast.

 

--EBG

[KY_TOP]

Due to the large number of missing the death toll in Thailand alone is expected to reach 2000. Thousands more than that in surrounding countries. The King's Grandson is among the dead and 2 divers guarding him have not yet been found. They brought his body back to the Grand Palace last night.

[londonbear]

The Sri Lankan coast south of Columbo has been affected see this report from the BBC site which might help: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/asia-pacific/4128645.stm

 

The BBC have had correspondents using mobile (cell) phones on the road southwards from the capital and live telephone reports from the SE coastal resorts. Their web site has emails from the island so it should be possible to get through although with obvious difficulty. I presume some of the satellite links are still up. If you are unable to contact them, there are other alternatives.

 

If they are British, there is an emergency telephone line run by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office and the Metropolitan Police on +44 20 7008 0000 This was very busy on Sunday but more staff were put on for Monday and you should get through if you persist. The US State Department has a similar line tho you will have to check on their site for it as it opened Monday. Other european countries with large numbers of tourists there should have similar facilities tho obviously there are far more British there.

[eastbayguy]

>I thought *I* was old, and you're still going at over 100!

>Good on ya!

 

Heh! Good catch. Actually, I should have said I recall studying disasters in my youth. No, I was not around when Krakatoa actually blew.

 

That being said, if I'm around 100 years from now to talk about this one, I hope people are truthfully telling me I look great for my age!

 

--EBG

[+ deej]

You look great for your age!

 

(See, now you're covered!)

[trilingual]

Thanks to all for the info. My friend is Dutch, so there may be information available through sources in the Netherlands. Unfortunately, my friend is absolutely, positively determined not to use e-mail, even though all his friends have pointed out that it's the easiest and cheapest way to stay in touch when you're bi-continental. But he's one of the last hold-outs! This may change his mind, assuming he's OK. I think his house is not very close to the water, and although there's damage on the west coast of Sri Lanka it sounds like it doesn't extend very far inland. I'm guessing that area got something of a backwash from the waves that hit India's southeast coast, just opposite Sri Lanka. If that's the case, the waves that reached western Sri Lanka were probably weaker than the original ones. The photos and video from the southern and eastern coasts are horrifying. And there are still many areas around the Indian Ocean that nobody's heard from yet, so the staggering toll from this catastrophe is undoubtedly going to go higher and higher. . . :-(

[Guest msclonly]

I was on the top 7th floor of the Bangkok Marriott Resort, which is located right next to the river. Not a shake or snapping rattle, that I would hear before an earthquake in Los Angeles.

There doesn't seem to have been much reaction to any vibrations or movements around town.

Was able to get a flight on the 1st back to Calif, which is closer to the time I wanted to come back. Earth wobbles are not a rare event.

 

The toll now is up to 26,000 and growning, since a lot of the people were on remote islands and lived a simple life.

The Balinese of course shunned the beaches and live up in the mountains recreating art, dance and music as their religion dictates. They believe the beach is where the evil spirits live. Obviously, they are so right!

 

Since so much energy was released with the quakes and waves killing so many people, the energy left for any terrorist activities in January are very limited, is any remain at all. Hopefully, they were washed out to sea!

 

;(

[Ignoto]

>Your post got me thinking; How does this rank with other mega

>disasters over time?

 

According to an October 2004 report in the prestigious medical journal The Lancet, the U.S. occupation of Iraq has cost the lives of over 100,000 Iraqis, mostly women and children.

[trilingual]

RE: Friend Safe in Sri Lanka

 

Finally got through by phone this morning to my friend in Sri Lanka. He lives in Piliyandala, not very far south of Colombo on the west coast. The connection was awful and it's ruinously expensive to call from Brazil, so we didn't talk for more than a few minutes. However, he and his adopted local family are all OK, thank G-d, and they're not having any problems at his house. They were all at the beach when the waves hit, though, and had to run to save themselves, he said. I guess they could see it coming. My friend said the entire beach area in their town is "gone," but I gather the water didn't make it very far inland in their district. He said that in their area only 8 people died or are missing, the fewest of any area in Sri Lanka affected by the tsunami. It's a big relief to know that my friend and his family are safe, as you can imagine.

 

The news looks increasingly grim, though. CNN Int'l and BBC World have broadcast aerial footage of towns on the west coast of Sumatra, nearest the quake, and they're literally gone. All you can see where there was once a town are vast mud flats and the outlines of the foundations of the more solid houses. Most in that area were just wood shacks, and there's no sign they ever existed, at all. Not a soul could be seen from the air. As heartbreaking as the toll is now, it can only go higher, because there must have been several hundred thousand people living along that coast. There are also a number of large islands off the western coast of Sumatra that must have been affected, and I've heard no news from there.

 

CNN Int'l also showed before and after satellite photos of some of the Nicobar Islands, and it looks like several were cut in half by the tsunami, or had their coastlines greatly altered.

 

Not too far north of Phuket, in Myanmar, there's an enormous archipelago of small islands. If Phuket was so badly affected, it's probable that area of Myanmar also was hit. Does anybody know anything about that area, or what may have happened there? I know it's hard to get news from Myanmar, but I can't help wondering. . . :-(