How fragile and temporary we are.
 

There are no Pixies in the affected area that I know of.

JAKARTA, Indonesia (AP) - The world's most powerful earthquake in 40 years triggered massive tidal waves that slammed into villages and seaside resorts across southern and southeast Asia on Sunday, killing more than 7,000 people in six countries.
Tourists, fishermen, homes and cars were swept away by walls of water up to 20 feet high that swept across the Bay of Bengal, unleashed by the 8.9-magnitude earthquake centered off the west coast of the Indonesian island of Sumatra.
In Sri Lanka, 1,000 miles west of the epicenter, more than 3,000 people were killed, the country's top police official said. At least 1,870 died in Indonesia, and 1,900 along the southern coasts of India. At least 198 were confirmed dead in Thailand, 42 in Malaysia and 2 in Bangladesh.
But officials expected the death toll to rise dramatically, with hundreds reported missing and all communications cut off to Sumatran towns closest to the epicenter. Hundreds of bodies were found on various beaches along India's southern state of Tamil Nadu, and more were expected to be washed in by the sea, officials said.
The rush of waves brought to sudden disaster to people carrying out their daily activities on the ocean's edge: Sunbathers on the beaches of the Thai resort of Phuket were washed away; a group of 32 Indians - including 15 children - were killed while taking a ritual Hindu bath to mark the full moon day; fishing boats, with their owners clinging to their sides, were picked up by the waves and tossed away.
``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.
The U.S. Geological Survey measured the quake at a magnitude of 8.9. Geophysicist Julie Martinez said it was the world's fifth-largest since 1900 and the largest since a 9.2 temblor hit Prince William Sound Alaska in 1964.…
Tidal waves leveled towns in the province of Aceh on Sumatra's northern tip, the region closest to the epicenter. An Associated Press reporter saw bodies wedged in trees as the waters receded. More bodies littered the beaches.
Health ministry official Els Mangundap said 1,876 people had died across the region, including some 1,400 in the Aceh provincial capital, Banda Aceh. Communications to the town had been cut.…..
An AP photographer saw two dozen bodies along a four-mile stretch of beach, some of children entangled in the wire mesh used to barricade seaside homes. Other bodies were brought up from the beach, wrapped in sarongs and laid on the road, while rows of men and women lined the roads asking if anyone had seen their relatives.……
In India, beaches were turned into virtual open-air mortuaries, with bodies of people caught in the tidal wave being washed ashore.
In Tamil Nadu state, just across the straits from Sri Lanka, 1,567 people were killed, said the state's top elected official, Chief Minister Jayaram Jayalalithaa.…..
The huge waves struck around breakfast time on the beaches of Thailand's beach resorts - probably Asia's most popular holiday destination at this time of year, particularly for Europeans fleeing the winter cold - wiping out bungalows, boats and cars, sweeping away sunbathers and snorkelers, witnesses said……
``People that were snorkeling were dragged along the coral and washed up on the beach, and people that were sunbathing got washed into the sea,'' said Simon Clark, 29, a photographer from London vacationing on Ngai island.…..
Dec 26 2004 10:12AM

OMG! I hadn't heard about this. Haven't watched the news in days. My prayers go out to all those poor families and for the strength they will need to get through such a horror. :(

Been listening to the news on this all morning. What a horrible disaster. Thoughts and prayers for all the victims and survivors.

It's just sooo awful.

8,000 counted now and climbing :(

Location, location, location.

This took place in one of the most crowded area of the world, and worse, at sea. The only way it could have been worse is if the epicenter had been located directly under a major coastal metropolitan area, like Singapore or Jakarta or something like that.

What a freakin' disaster.

OMG! It makes you think about where you live doesn't it?

Death count is still rising 9,500 was last I heard

You never know how blessed you are, until something so tragic makes you think.

My youngest child is a sweet boy of 10, who is in a special day class. His teacher is vacationing in Thailand for the Christmas holidays, with her family. I'm sick with worry about them. My heart and prayers go out to all the people in that area.

Wow...I couldn't imagine what the people experienced.

I read on nbcnews.com that this quake effected the whole planet so much so that earth's rotation changed...3 days prior to this quake another one located between Australia and Antartica registered 8.1. Makes you wonder what is going on inside our planet and what could happen next... :(

............. and counting.

I hope she is alright flutelady. *hugs*

The tsunami hit the province of Bengal, although thankfully not Calcutta. Mt husband's family is in Calcutta and is fine.

However, this one hit close enough to home that everyone here is thinking very much about their mortality and also sending thoughts and prayers to those who weren't so lucky.

13,000 just announced on TV news. :(



It was like 9/11 happening for four days in a row, but it only took a couple minutes.
















Give somebody a hug. :cool: