News Archives

Week of December 26, 2004

Tsunami, cont.

The death toll is over 120,000, rising as the coast is explored. Aftershocks and further flooding hamper relief efforts.

And Digital Globe now offers an entire page of satellite photos of Aceh and other tsunami sites.

Posted by Jennifer on Saturday, January 1 2005, 10:48 PM

New Year's Cat Blogging

We're all crashing out, with a nice warm fire going.

Take care of your loved ones, and Happy New Year to you!

Posted by Jennifer on Friday, December 31 2004, 6:28 PM

More on the Aceh region

CNN reports that the death toll from all places has topped 116,000 now, more than half of these from Indonesia. They also quote a locally based conservationist, Mike Griffiths, who participated in a flyover of parts of the Sumatran coast no one has reached yet. Here is what he saw:

Indonesian-based British conservationist Mike Griffiths flew over the area and said it was "like a nuclear blast has leveled the area."

Between Meulaboh and Chalang, about 60 miles north, no villages are left, he said.

Calong, a town of 13,000, has "vaporized," he said. "You couldn't even recognized there'd been a town there unless you'd flown over it before."

For a visceral idea of what the destruction was like, take a look at these pictures from Digital Globe. Here is part of Banda Aceh, the largest city in the region:

Before the tsunami

After the tsunami

Comments? Click here.

Posted by Jennifer on Thursday, December 30 2004, 2:51 PM

Where are all the animals?

Apparently they are not finding dead animals in large quantities, and wondering why. I have no problem believing that animals were sensitive to the quake and resulting waves and ran away rather than towards the danger. Humans are a curious species, and that can be deadly in this sort of situation.

Posted by Jennifer on Wednesday, December 29 2004, 10:18 PM

Changing the earth

Scientists are speculating that this sharp earthquake may have made the earth wobble, and permanently changed our rate of rotation by a fraction of a second. Some of the islands involved may have actually been moved dozens of meters from their original locations.

Posted by Jennifer on Wednesday, December 29 2004, 1:10 PM

"The water is coming, the water is coming!"

This evening on NPR's All Things Considered, reporter Shawn Doonan of the Financial Times described the events that took place in the Aceh region of Sumatra. This area was hit first by the heart of the 9.0 magnitude quake, and 15-30 minutes later was hit again by the tidal wave. Of the more than 55,000 people known dead so far, half are from Indonesia, and most of those are from the Aceh region. In one town alone, 10,000 people died.

But from what he says, I think there is worse news to come. He speaks of the western coast of Indonesia, where over one million people normally live. This is the area worst hit, and no one has been able to reach any person or town along that part of the coast by phone or truck so far. There were flights overhead for the first time today, and he says there are piles of bodies everywhere.

The clip is only seven minutes, and it's chilling.

UPDATE: Shawn Donnen also has an article on this at the Financial Times site.

Posted by Jennifer on Tuesday, December 28 2004, 8:34 PM

Tsunami help

A new blog is compiling resources for how you can help the tsunami victims and survivors.

Posted by Jennifer on Tuesday, December 28 2004, 6:56 PM

Satellite images

NOAA has posted a page of information about the tsunami and its path. If you scroll down a bit you will see a link to a Quicktime montage of satellite images showing the tsunami's progression across the ocean. At the bottom of the page are links to other informative NOAA sites on this incredible natural disaster.

Posted by Jennifer on Tuesday, December 28 2004, 3:30 PM

Death toll rises

They are saying now that over 40,000 people have died as a direct result of the tsunami. From what I heard last on the news, there may be twice as many deaths afterwards from lack of medical services, diseases, and so on. Aid teams are pouring into southeast Asia, in an attempt to prevent problems as best they can.

The New York Times link above has a side link to a graphic of the wave's movements, if you're interested.

Posted by Jennifer on Tuesday, December 28 2004, 12:05 PM

More than 12,000 dead so far

An earthquake of magnitude 8.9 occurred under the sea outside Indonesia last night, killing several thousand at once. But the earthquake generated a tsunami more than 30 feet tall (10 meters), and that swept across coastal Asia, killing thousands more. The force of the quake was felt more than 3,000 miles away, and this is believed to be the most powerful quake in 40 years.

The Washington Post has an eyewitness report. The analyses will go on for a long time. Personally, I think this won't be a good century to live on an island, or in any low lying coastal area.

In the meantime, many countries will send disaster relief, including Japan and the U.S.

Posted by Jennifer on Sunday, December 26 2004, 9:52 PM

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