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Found out Last night that the village in Sri Lanka where my wife and I got married Last year - not just the resort, but the entire village, along with what sounds like most of the population - is gone.

All our wedding photos and memories of our wedding holiday will now be forever tinged with sadness and a feeling of helplessness.

Sorry to bring everyone down, but I wanted to share.

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Last I heard, the death toll was nearing 100,000....which makes it one of the worst natural disasters of modern times. And likely the most costly too. The news said this disaster is rivalled only by the devastation caused by the nukes dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki at the end of WWII for the sheer devastation caused all at one time, from one event.

In case you didn't know, this earthquake was the largest recorded earthquake in 40 years.

Best of luck to anyone who has family or friends living in those areas.

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When we lived in New York City, my wife worked at the World Financial Center across the street from the World Trade Center. We moved in June 2001 to South Carolina. I cannot imagine what I would have done if she had been across the street from that horrible event while I was "trapped" twelve miles away, unable to get to her.

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renegade i think the news forgot china in 75 i believe when that earth quake and damns flooding caused 1.5 million deaths.

I was watching the footage today of those villages that are just gone.

It is so sad. Lets hope the rescue and supplies get those areas quickly.

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Absolutely horrible. God must have really hated those poor people to do that to them. http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/frown.gif

The horror of what happend defyies my ability to comment. Those poor people. I would say God help them, but I don't think they would want his help after this Act of God. http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/frown.gif

Gods ways are not our ways, and his actions often defy meaning until much much later if ever.

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Thanks for the correction http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/image...es/redface.gif I was just repeating what I heard or read somewhere....can't trust the media these days. http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/image...es/biggrin.gif http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/image...s/rolleyes.gif

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This is terrible. Everytime I check the news, the number of deaths keeps increasing.

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The final toll based on what i have heard seen may never really be known, given the part of the world the event occured and it's scale.
As for the china quake, wasn't that quake that china found out their technique for predicting quakes was useless? or was that back in the 60'S
the Sumatra quake is the 4th largest in 40 years, 9.0. chile had the largest at 9.5 the Alaska quake in 67(?)was a 9.2 and triggerred tsunami' that killed poeple in

Hawaii, California and possibly Japan, its what lead to the warning system in the pacific, ironically Thailand is a memeber of that, for their east coast. the threat of tsunamis in the indian ocean is considered very low, consequently, given the price tag for an early warning system, it's very low in the area's list of priorities.

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I spent a considerable amount of time traveling in this area of the world and it's rough seeing all these casualties pouring in from cities, towns and villages I have known.

Sorry about your village in Lanka, really lovely country.

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There might be 3500 swedes killed in this, it's our greatest national catastrophe, and it's on the other side of the world!

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Still 2000 Americans missing http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/frown.gif

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It seems that the tsunami day was the day when most swedes died at once since the battle at poltava 1709, the child mortality figures will also be affected...

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The Earthquake and Tsunami are not 'Acts of God' they are 'Natural Disasters' The phrase "Act of God" was coined by Insurance companies in order to avoid paying for 'natural disasters'

It is very tragic, but nature has always been a force to recon with. What make this even more tragic, is that it happened without any warning. We can see a hurricane comming and know when to 'batten down the hatches' for tornados, but massive earthquakes like this catch everyone offguard.

I hope that relief gets to these people as fast as possible. 2005 will surely be a year of rebuilding for the people in that region.

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I hate Insurance Companies. To me there otta be a law that regulates them and insures that they DO NOT rip off people or scam them as they currently do.

What really angers me is that now, with all this aid going to the effected countries, corruption is going to run rampantly out of control and the the people who would benefit the most from the aid are going to suffor the most because of it.

This natural disaster is view as only a "money making" oppurtunity by many with the power to manipulate the process.

One only has to look to the little reported on Oil For Food scandle of the UN to know what will go on here. http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/frown.gif

I think the worst of this natural disaster is yet to come, and that is the real tradgedy.

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WHA?

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I am sorry, I do not mean to offend any one by my statement. It is just and observation on my part and should not be viewed as my position on life, God, and Death.

I do not blame God for this tragedy, but in the same way, I cannot help but wonder if there is a God, why would he inflict such a horrible thing upon so many?

Perhaps what happened happened because God could not prevent it. I really do not know, all I know is that the pain of what has happened effects everyone. You canot help but feel some sense of profound sympathy for those who lost their lives, and for those who must now live with that loss as a part of their lives.

It is just really sad that something like this has happened, and it is of sufficent horror to make one, well me any ways, ponder the spiritual beliefs I have.

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What i Dislike about this whole thing is how the Raise money for Charity thing has seemed to devolve into a "Who can Raise more?" Competition...

At least that Cash is going to a good cause, but it seems a sad state of affairs when it devolves to competition and not kindness. http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/frown.gif

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After what the Red - Cross did to the people who donated after 9-11, I sincerely doubt that the money is actually going for a good cause. More likely than not, it is going to some over priced fat arse offical who wants a new Bently for his car collection.

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AT- Now you are being much to cynical!!

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I agree AT, after the 9-11 attack, they were parising that they had recieved over 60 million in support funds (from the people making donations) but the sad truth, is that even up to a few months ago, many of the families that suffered losses in the tragic event have not seen so much as a penny from the collected funds. I mean how hard is it to keep track of about 3500 families that were 'directly' affected by 9-11 and make sure they get a piece of the funds that were donated for the sole purpose of helping them.

The way 'relief funds' are handled when taken in from donations is disgusting. I would not be surprised if 0% of the funds ever got to the victims. Oh, I forgot, they had to fill out the 'relief-action' fund request form under article 1010101 of the bull**** law in order to get a piece. If the victims failed to submit the necessary forms then the unclaimed money goes to the A**hole who is in charge of the fund.. Ususlly a bank.

Aarg, too bad that these 'temporary' 'relief fund' things didn't have to follow rules.

but I digress, sorry,

Cheers!

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The red cross uses most of the money for aiding people, some goes to administration but that is unavoidable.
Most help orgfanizations do a good job, there will always be scams, so go with the big organizations, they usually (not always) are under strict control.

In Sweden we have bank account numbers that starts with 90, anyone wanting such an account must agree to strict supervision that the money goes where it's intended and that administartion is kept to a minimum.
I belive such things exist in many countries.

Most people involved in aid and help does it for good reasons, don't forget that!

If you are in doubt, join your local red cross organization and help out, watch and see.
I personally know several people who have worked under primitive conditions in africa and asia as doctors and nurses for the red cross and medicine sans frontiers and belive me, they don't do it to make money!

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I think the really sad part is that if in, say 2010, you made a graph of the numbers of people known to have died 'unnatural' deaths, this disaster will just create a small blip as opposed to a spike. Millions of people die horribly every year, and often in great numbers, and yet we only hear about the ones like those in Asia because their demise was much more spectacular than most.

On a side note, one of my managers is missing in Thailand at the moment, which makes me feel kinda guilty, given the fact that we harboured a mutual abhoration for each other, I can remember wishing they'd stop living on one or two occasions, and now it looks like I may have gotten what I wished for, even if I never meant it seriously. Fate is cruel.

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I don't know anyone who was touched by this tragedy, not even anyone who knows anyone who was touched by this tragedy. We are quite removed from it. The numbers are so large that it becomes hard to grasp. Still, many of my friends are making donations to relief organizations in the triple digits.
I hate to make it sound like a competion, but most of them are not rich by any means. Still, we all realize that this Tsunami was really bad. Anything anybody can do to help, they should.
This is a US government web site, a list of relief orgs:
http://www.usaid.gov/locations/asia_...i/ngolist.html

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My wife's father lives in India and was hit by the waves. He's originally from England and is your sterio-typical high-class Englishman. After he retired from being a Computer Engineer (origially worked on developing the Main-Frame Computer), he decided that India was the place he wanted to live. His first choice was Sri Lanka but they don't allow immigrants. He build a house right on the beach on the east coast of India.

Luckily, he built his house to western standards and it's nearly all concrete and brick. He saw the wave coming and knew that they could not get away in time. By the time he saw the wave it was about 6 meters (18 feet) when it crashed. Him and his wife went to the second floor of their house and simply waited for the water to receid. Except for some electrical outlets on the ground floor, apparently their house survived with minimal damage. The rest of the village they live in, however was not so lucky.

I've attached pictures of their house before and after the wave hit.