Indonesian Earthquake.

Reported Magnitude 8.9.
10+meter Tsunamis reported in Thailand, Bangladesh, Siri Lanka. Some islands in the Maldives completely flooded.
Aftershocks in the area in the 7+ range.
This is the largest quake since Alaska 1964.
link:
http://earthquake.usgs.gov/eqinthenews/2004/usslav/

IT HAS BEGUN~~~ LOL

This shit is crazy. Really really insane and unfortunate.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/south_asia/4125481.stm is a good actual report of it.

Crazy...

It's the end times! rite guys?

The sooner Nature takes back the planet from us, the better. I don't think we'd be missed.

10 metre's aint big

>>7
You first, buddy.

But he's right. I think modern cargo boats are made for higher waves, though they loose against the "really" high ones.

This isn't about ships, its about 10-metre waves at the damned shoreline.  That are filled with thousands of tourists in buildings.  All of those things come together and what do you get - chaos, death and general destruction.

Neva said this was about ships...

its actually not about the initial impact... though many died in the actual event

the ensuing conditions and diseases will comprise the bulk of the casualties when its all said and done

It's not about the 10 meter wave, it's about the massive speed and unrelenting power of it. It just keeps going on and on. The whole fucking ocean is going with it.

And yet people STILL insist on beachfront property. It`s a tragedy, but I`d personally never build on a beach. Or anywhere else where nature is just waiting to kick you in the face (fault lines, volcanically active foothills, tornado alley, hurricane alley.... etc etc...)

And yet they`ll build there again, too...

>>14
real estate: location, location, location

>>14
Go build something in the center of the Australian desert.

>>16

I love you.

>>16 No thank you.

Had a friend in Phuket when this happened. She, being from Alaska, immediately realized what it meant when the water all went away, and headed back to her upland hotel on the 4th floor where she waited it out. Said the mess was scary, though. Tried to tell people what was happening, but of course she didn't speak Thai, only Japanese.

I love massive earthquakes, but sadly not enough people dies. :/

Supposedly it changed the earths rotataion?

History always repeats. You would think that, looking at the history of the area, people wouldn`t have bothered even thinking about living there. Anyone who was surprised that this happened was obviously fairly dim-witted. When you choose a dangerous place to live, this will invariably happen. It always does. I find it incredible that people will invariably rebuild in the EXACT SAME SPOT AGAIN.

It blows my mind.

This is why I feel talking politics with some of the "pranksters" on 4chan is futile. Anyone who laughs at this sort of thing is looking for attention or, frankly, completly brain dead.

So yeah... enjoy the filth.

-Tarage

>>23
I care. Really, I do. Look at me caring. See? This is me caring.

Thanks for stopping by! Don't let the door hit your ass on the way out.

>>24 speaks truth.

Yes, intellectually we feel sorry for their suffering. But do you emotionally feel anything? Unless you knew someone who was there, it's so remote you just don't care.

>>23


i agree.... how disgusting

>>22

I fail to understand your point: are you just trying to sound bitter? Nearly every place on this lowly planet is dangerous for one reason or another. Humans have, at this point, no other place to go, particularly since nobody (no government) seems interested in colonization of other bodies in this solar system.

It's not as if you're going to find a "safe" place on this planet that isn't a site for some sort of active series of climatological or geological events. The idea is that as humans increase our collective understanding we can learn to deal with and maybe even predict such events, and handle them in a manner that reduces the amount of damage and especially loss of life.

What happened there is unfortunate. Especially so because so many tragic deaths could have been prevented if the skinflint governments in the region (India, I'm talkin to you!) had invested in some form of early warning system for tsunamis. This sort of death toll simply doesn't occur in the Pacific under similar circumstances, mostly because nearly everywhere around the Ring of Fire has some form of tsunami warning system, even if only via ham radio.

>>25

I know someone who was there. She's pretty bothered by it. I haven't heard from her but once because it's difficult to communicate with anyone in the region at this point.

As for emotional feelings, it's perfectly normal not to feel any sort of strong emotion related to such an incident if you're not involved in some manner. We're inundated with news of terrible situations around the world every day by mass media and modern technology. Just as how your eyes adapt to bright light, and how your nociception (pain sensation system) adapts to continuous low level pain, your emotions adapt to the continuous barrage of bad news. For the same reason people in prison camps feel jaded after seeing so many people tortured, you just get used to it despite the awfulness. That's not a wonderful thing, but it is an adaptation that allows us to survive in adversity.

The US has pledged around $50M dollars.  Godamn joke.  That won't bury all the dead dogs.
Think what could be done with the money being spent in Iraq.

Wanna' Truly Major Victory in the War on Terror?

Indonesia is the largest Muslum countery (by Pop.) on the planet  and the island of Sumatra was the hardest hit.  Do a Marshall Plan for ALL affected.  Rescue, rebuild—and get the fuck out.
I'd love to see Bush's face right now because this has sealed his fate.  In any perspective you can call up—he blew it.  In addition to the above:
Evangelical:  Picked the WRONG Tribulation and squandered everything upon it in an act of supreme hubris.
Corporate:  The loss of probably One Million new low wage workers.
I could go on but the rest is TOO depressing. :(

Why the fuck are they softening the blow on the news? They had the 80,000 total a long time ago but major news outlets are trickling out bigger and bigger numbers. Finally today cnn is reporting 80,000.

>>14
Um... how about California?

>>22
What people fail to realize is that the Richter scale is logrithmic (base 10).  An earthquake that rates a scale 8 is 10 times more powerful than a scale 7. 

>>25
Admittedly, when 11 September 2001 occured, I felt very little.  It is somewhat the same in this case.  Oddly enough, when the Space Shuttle Columbia exploded, I was saddened.

>>That won't bury all the dead dogs.
Think what could be done with the money being spent in Iraq.

lol, wildlife organization reported NO animal death so far....no animal corpse found...... >_>;;;

>>29

you think the government are the only source to pledge money? you never hear about the private sector donating money to the tsunami victims I assume...

>>33
People heard the words governments speak, not private interests.

Microsoft could donate several billion tomorrow... but most people do not immediately associate Microsoft with the United States.

>>31 Admittedly, I would not choose to live on the fault line in California. A good distance away, but still in the state would be fine.

The interesting thing is that earthquakes are really the one act of nature that mankind has learned to compensate for in construction.

I suppose you could have one of those short flat concrete bunkers they call "hurricane proof homes" but it won't do you much good if the hurricane drags along floodwaters.

Yes, modern construction can save lives.  Most folks in this part of the world sadly live in crap housing.  With Tidal Waves warning is the key.  If you're ever at the beach and the water suddenly recedes so should you—as fast as you can away from the beach and uphill.

Already looting has started.  Not some clown lookin' for a flat-screen but people lookin' for food.  In about a week Cholera and Typhus outbreaks.  When it's all done it's gonna be over 500,000.

>>29
  You are like the bum that sits on the side of the road asking for money and then spitting on someone who gives you $10.
 
  I would like to know why when all hell breaks loose everyone looks to the USA (the country that most people in the world despise because of it's prosperity and so to speak "lack of culture") for help and then almost without exception blames us in some way for all the bad in the world. 

  Why aren't all of the other countries in the world that could afford to throw some money and aid to the region being ridiculed for their lack of participation in the same way that the US is?  Look at how much France and Germany have contributed.

Do you think this and the war that the US lead in Iraq can somehow be tied together?

Ironic that the world looks at the US so poorly when we "police the world", and then when we actually stay out of something, they bitch about that too. We didn`t used to be this way. Look at WWI and WWII. We just stayed out of it, supporting the allies through limited trade, and for a purely economical reason. It was only when the allies lost the ability to protect themselves or evenour own ships when they were in their waters that we were forced to step in. And a lot of Americans died. No other country should be surprised that we jump in so early now... and when we choose not to, they should keep silent, since it`s really what they ask for every other time.