What do you make of the tsunami?

[Tonya]

This disaster just seems so unfathomable to me. I am in total shock at the devastation. It is unbelievable how so much devastation can happen in such a short time. I feel like it has to have some meaning. Like it can't possibly be just a natural disaster.

I was just wondering, does this mean anything religiously to anyone? Does anyones here have any feelings or beliefs about this disaster that they'd like to share?

[Paul]

   Throughout history earthquakes have always been deadly. (http://www.infoplease.com/ipa/A0884804.html) On July 27, 1976 at least 255,000 were killed in Tangshan, China. In 1556, 830,000 were killed in China and over a thousand years ago in 856 about 200,000 were killed in Iran.

      Paul

[smokey the elder]

This was a very strong force of nature, consistent with how this planet is put together. (One could argue endlessly about Who wrote the specs.) I'm so sorry for all those people.

[Laura's Babies]

That was terriable and they had no warning. So many died and many left homeless. My heart goes out to all of them. They said 30,000 died on the news this morning.

[Tonya]

Originally posted by Paul
   Throughout history earthquakes have always been deadly. (http://www.infoplease.com/ipa/A0884804.html) On July 27, 1976 at least 255,000 were killed in Tangshan, China. In 1556, 830,000 were killed in China and over a thousand years ago in 856 about 200,000 were killed in Iran.

      Paul

That is one of the big things that I was wondering. I couldn't find anything in any of the articles about past earthquakes. Thanks, Paul.

[RobiLee]

This is just awful and I don't even have any words.

Robin :(

[RICHARD]

To this day the Chinese government has denied that the 1976 quake ever happened.

One thing about this disaster is the way the governments and local districts, who rely heavilyy on tourist dollars, will handle the situation.

The people who base their income on those dollars are going to be impacted for YEARS.

--------------------------------------

Being in an area where an earthquake has hit makes you humble and makes you wonder if there is a god.

Like the hurricane victims, you are reminded every day about all the things that you took for granted.

The '94 quake crushed the valley.....10 years later there are a few buildings that are still vacant.

-------------------------------------

I have said it before. I can do without the wind and water tragedies.. In an earthquake all your stuff stays in in one pile.:rolleyes:

---------------------------------------

There is the story of the swimsuit model, I had never heard of her,
who spent 8 hours with a broken pelvis hanging on a palm tree.

She had planned a surprise vacation with her boyfriend who was washed away and is presumed to have drowned when the tsumani hit...

It was bad enough to live thru something like this-but to plan it as a vacation and having it turn out like that.........

I don't know here age-If we figure she's about 24- that leaves her about 50-55 years to live with that on her mind.

Is there a god? I don't know.

There is religion.

How do I know??

You can see it in the video from that area....You can see it on the people's faces......the survivors ARE asking their gods, "Why?":(

[Barbara]

The Christian god cannot be understood by the human ratio. He's by definition bigger than that. (Read the Hiob story in the bible- a story that was always among the most difficult to understand for me).

Independent of that question: We have forgotten many aspects of nature as we have cars, heatings, planes, dams- we think we can dominate nature (and we do it in many ways- just look at the extinction of animals due to a lack of living space all over the world.)

But at the end of the day the destruction power in nature itself is bigger than even ours: there are rivers (we had a big flood in Germany two years ago), volcanoes (do you remember Mt St. Helens), earthquakes, tsunamis.......... and we better shouldn't forget that.

Whether it makes sense that the world is like this is something I cannot answer.

[Jadapit]

I'm with you Tonya the whole thing has been really hard for me to even fathom. My heart breaks for all the people and their familes. We were watching CNN last night and they were saying it was like a million atomic bombs going off. That blew my mind.

They showed a guy carrying the body of his 4 year old child out of the water. The child had died. It broke my heart and I just couldn't watch anymore. It sure makes you stop and think how lucky we all are and that we really have nothing to complain about you know?

I dont know how many of you watch Oprah but I guess her decorator Nate was there when it happened. They were saying he was lucky to be alive. The whole thing is just beyond sad. It just shows you how powerful nature can be.

[momoffuzzyfaces]

Originally posted by Jadapit
I'm with you Tonya the whole thing has been really hard for me to even fathom. My heart breaks for all the people and their familes. We were watching CNN last night and they were saying it was like a million atomic bombs going off. That blew my mind.

They showed a guy carrying the body of his 4 year old child out of the water. The child had died. It broke my heart and I just couldn't watch anymore. It sure makes you stop and think how lucky we all are and that we really have nothing to complain about you know?

I dont know how many of you watch Oprah but I guess her decorator Nate was there when it happened. They were saying he was lucky to be alive. The whole thing is just beyond sad. It just shows you how powerful nature can be.
CNN said the quake was so powerful that it even changed the planet's rotation. We lost about 3 micro-seconds or something like that in time.

Seems to me we are lucky the entire planet didn't blow up.

I just can't imagine enduring something like those poor people are going through.

And as horrible as that is, it may just be a warm up for things to come. People need food, water, shelter, medicine, clothes...
EVERY THING!
There's a good chance there will be diseases making the survivors sick too!
:(

[smokey the elder]

There was an article that I can't find now that said that large natural disasters often lead directly or indirectly to political changes. I hope that at least for a time countries can put aside their differences and help out.

[carole]

Incredibly sad and tragic, words cannot describe how I feel for them all, my heart goes out to each and everyone of these people, anytime something bad like this happens, I am so thankful to be where I am, but let's face it , it can happen to anyone of us anytime.

One NZ'er is Dead, a person who did a lot for the humane society there, helping animals, and 500 kiwis are missing so far.

Let us all keep these people in our thoughts and for those who pray do so for all the people who have lost loved ones, for those survivors,and for there to be no more suffering for them all.

[momoffuzzyfaces]

The Bible says that as the end of the age nears there will be wars and rumors of war, famines, pestilences and earthquakes in various places. These are just the beginning of the 'sorrows'.

Now, I realize these things have always been with us but it is a fact they are occuring more often than ever. Just look at this year alone: 4 hurricanes in Florida, earthquakes all over the world, first snow for Christmas in New Orleans in over 50 years, massive snow storms, more tornadoes in one year than ever and so on.

I think life on planet earth as we know it, is starting to wrap up.

[NoahsMommy]

Its all very, very sad. :( Its such a huge loss.

I don't know if its religious or not. Interesting idea, though.

[Kirsten]

I recently read a book, "Colère", by Denis Marquet. It's about our planet Earth fighting back, destroying the human species that abused her for so long.

This tsunami (and all the other natural disasters this year) remind me a lot of this book, and of what it's trying to tell us. I don't believe that natural disasters come from a higher power, I'm not a religious person. But we sure did too much damage to our planet, so I figure this may be part of some major climate changes we'll have to face (or the generations that follow us). The recent events reminds you of the bible, the Book of Revelation, though, you know, the four horsemen of the Apocalypse and such... :(

This is a huge tragedy, and I have no words for it. Meanwhile they say 100,000 may have lost their lives, and those who survived have lost their homes and may face diseases and illness.

Our government has asked us not to buy fire works for New Year's this year, but to donate the money instead. I think we all should help a bit now. What else can we do? :(


CNN said the quake was so powerful that it even changed the planet's rotation. We lost about 3 micro-seconds or something like that in time.

If that has happened, I'm afraid we will all feel the effects sooner or later in one way or another. :(

Kirsten

[RICHARD]

A strange story about the tsumani..

The toll has risen to over 120,000 people.

The people providing help to the stricken areas have reported that there are very few, if any animal corpses found among the ruins.


:confused:

[momoffuzzyfaces]

Originally posted by RICHARD
A strange story about the tsumani..

The toll has risen to over 120,000 people.

The people providing help to the stricken areas have reported that there are very few, if any animal corpses found among the ruins.


:confused: I've heard that animals can tell when an earthquake is going to occur.

Maybe they knew it was coming and headed for higher ground.

This is just so incredibly awful!:(

[RICHARD]

THIS STATISTIC MADE MY BLOOD RUN COLD.

For people never having been in an earthquake this will not mean much to you...


The area that suffered the 9.0 quake has had at least 50 'aftershocks' in the magnitude of 5.0 or greater.

Some as high as 6.5....

I counted forty and stopped....:eek:

[Jadapit]

Richard,
Thats so hard to even fathom! Wow!! I take it you have been in an earthquake? I can't even begin to imagine what that's like.

[petslover]

I watched the ABC special on it last night, and that is just horrible! God Bless all those people!

[RICHARD]

Originally posted by Jadapit
Richard,
Thats so hard to even fathom! Wow!! I take it you have been in an earthquake? I can't even begin to imagine what that's like.

71, 87, 94 and a few others.

http://www.losangelesalmanac.com/topics/Disaster/di02.htm

Nothing bigger than 6.7

In 87 I was in the basement of a 10 story building..

I jumped underneath my desk and watch a stretch of 8 foot thick concrete ripple underneath me.

You find God, religion and the urge to stop all your bad behavior for a few weeks.....

-----------------------

BTW,

6.7 sucks really bad...........SO, if 6.whatever are aftershocks......

:rolleyes: :eek: :confused: :(

All in all, NOT A GOOD WAY TO START OFF YOUR DAY.

[Jadapit]

Thanks for that link. Very interesting! Have you lived in Cali a long time? Do you ever want to leave there?;)

[RICHARD]

Originally posted by Jadapit
Thanks for that link. Very interesting! Have you lived in Cali a long time? Do you ever want to leave there?;)

Too long and no.

For all it's BS and goofy stuff- it's home!;)

I don't surf, I have dark hair, but, I do say DUDE alot.;)

[Kirsten]

Originally posted by momoffuzzyfaces
I've heard that animals can tell when an earthquake is going to occur.

Maybe they knew it was coming and headed for higher ground.

This is just so incredibly awful!:(

Strange, but maybe they really sensed something was going to happen, and they fled. Well, good that at least they have been spared... :(


BTW, I heard something on the news the other day, but I don't know if it's true or not. It has been reported that appearantly the people working on the Californian early warning system for earthquakes noticed that something was about to happen, but that the Californian coast wouldn't be affected, so they didn't give out a warning to their people. But they did not inform the now affected countries in South Asia either. And as we know, they don't have any warning sytems, and so the wave hit them - more or less - out of the blue...

Kirsten

[RICHARD]

Originally posted by Kirsten


BTW, I heard something on the news the other day, but I don't know if it's true or not. It has been reported that appearantly the people working on the Californian early warning system for earthquakes noticed that something was about to happen, but that the Californian coast wouldn't be affected, so they didn't give out a warning to their people. But they did not inform the now affected countries in South Asia either.

Thats' interesting. should you see a link would you post it?

The local Siesmologists, Kate Hutton and Lucy Jones (we know them because they are the faces we see soon ofter our shakers!!) didn't mention anything about it....

There are two different 'waves' that travel thru the earth's layers....

P and S waves

http://www.exploratorium.edu/faultline/earthquakescience/eqscience4.html

--------------------------------

There are such things as 'precursor' quakes, the Hollywood hills were hit by some small quakes before the 94 Northridge earthquake, but how can anyone tell if they are 'pre' earthquakes as opposed to small 'alone' earthquakes???



:confused:

[Kirsten]

If I find one, I will. But I haven't got this info (rumour) from a website, I heard about it on tv.

Kirsten

[RICHARD]

Originally posted by Kirsten
If I find one, I will. But I haven't got this info (rumour) from a website, I heard about it on tv.

Kirsten

You can send me your TV....;)

[carole]

NZ like California is on the earthquake belt, and prone to them as well, we have had some biggies, infact one was at least 7 on the scale but was where it was basically un-populated, so the damage was very little.

If everyone in NZ gave 1 dollar that would raise 4million, imagine what other countries could give.

We still have many NZer's unaccounted for over there.

This is indeed just mind-blowing, imagine surviving this and then still have to cope with what is ahead.

The cricket team is touring NZ right now, they have opted to postpone the tour and go back home, there can be a 2 million dollar fine and they can be banned from playing for doing so, but NZ has done the decent thing, and agreed of course to them going, so all is sweet, no fines, and hopefully the guys can get back to their homeland and help with the clean up, luckily none of their families were lost, most are travelling with the team, and two of their mothers were injured, but you can imagine how the poor guys would feel.

[Paul]

   Kirsten, perhaps you are referring to the International Tsunami Information Center and the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center in Hawaii along with their Pacific tsunami warning system. Minutes after the quake they sent out a warning to 26 nations including Thailand and Indonesia. I have not seen a complete account of what they did and did not do.

   From TechNewsWorld, Tsunami Alerts Failed To Reach the Right People in Time (http://www.technewsworld.com/story/Tsunami-Alerts-Failed-To-Reach-the-Right-People-in-Time-39258.html)

      Paul

[gini]

Originally posted by Tonya
That is one of the big things that I was wondering. I couldn't find anything in any of the articles about past earthquakes. Thanks, Paul.

http://neic.usgs.gov/neis/bulletin/

Tonya, I haven't read the whole thread yet, so forgive me is someone else has given you this link. Gini

[gini]

Richard, I was here for the 6.7 earthquake as well. My little R/B kitty, Patches shook all day. I ended up holding her most of the day to reassure her..........and it helped me as well.

I read that the recent earthquake was 200 TIMES STRONGER THAN OUR EARTHQUAKE.

I believe we have had three other "9's" in the last century, so does this have any significant meaning? I don't think so, except that it shows us WE AREN'T IN CHARGE!

[RICHARD]

The local radio station is talking about a town with 150,000 people that has disappeared.


The death toll is projected to be close to 400,000 people as the days go by.

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http://www.lacoliseumstadium.com/images/image001.jpg

To put that number into perspective. This is what the LA Coliseum looks like with a little more than 100,000 people in it.......Empty it out and refill it three more times to get 400,000.

-----------------------------------

The news service just told a story that a professor Turcotte (?)
from the University of Davis, California 'predicted' on December 14th that a large quake would hit that area in the next ten years...

He gave a speech at a Dec 14th meeting and gave the prediction.

[boscibo]

I ma a geology major, and stuff like this has happened for millions and millions of years. It will happen again. The Earth is covered with plates that move constantly. Google "plate tectonics" and look at how drastically the Earth has changed in the past. All those plates moving are going to cause quakes and there's nothing we can do to stop it. The geological time scale is huge (4.6 billion years), that to us these large destructive events seem rare, but they have been happening all along.


The big difference now is that the human population is so large and tend to congregate near the coasts. Any coastline is vulnerable. A big one like this could happen again next year, or it could happen in a thousand years. But it will happen again.

[ChrisH]

Originally posted by RICHARD
A strange story about the tsumani..
... The people providing help to the stricken areas have reported that there are very few, if any animal corpses found among the ruins.
:confused:
Did animals have quake warning?
By Sue Nelson
BBC Science correspondent

Wildlife officials in Sri Lanka have reported that, despite the loss of human life in the Asian disaster, there have been no recorded animal deaths.
Waves from the worst tsunami in memory sent floodwater surging up to 3.5km (two miles) inland to the island's biggest wildlife reserve. Many tourists drowned but, to the surprise of officials, no dead animals have been found. It has highlighted claims that animals may possess a sixth sense about danger.

Yala National Park in Sri Lanka is home to elephants, deer, jackals and crocodiles. Praised for its conservation, the park is also considered one of the best places in the world to observe leopards. It is now closed after floods damaged buildings and caused the deaths of tourists and employees of the park and lodge. Yet, surprisingly, none of the park's varied wildlife is reported to have perished.

Debbie Martyr, who works on a wild tiger conservation programme on the Indonesian island of Sumatra, one of the worst-hit areas in Sunday's disaster, said she was not surprised to hear there were no dead animals.
"Wild animals in particular are extremely sensitive," she said. "They've got extremely good hearing and they will probably have heard this flood coming in the distance. There would have been vibration and there may also have been changes in the air pressure which will have alerted animals and made them move to wherever they felt safer."

There are many eyewitness accounts of birds and animals migrating before earthquakes and volcanic eruptions. The scientific evidence for a sixth sense is lacking, but if the reports are confirmed, they could add to the understanding of animal behaviour and possibly even be used in the future as an early warning system for humans.


Story from BBC NEWS:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/south_asia/4136485.stm

[Karen]

The lesson of this is, if you are ever somewhere and notice all the animals fleeing in one direction, GO WITH THEM! Not that there's a Pet Talker in existence that wouldn't instinctively go with them just to see all the animals and what they were doing ... ;)

[Kirsten]

Gosh, I have just learnt that my boss' sister in law and her spouse have died in Khao-Lak, Thailand. :(

27 other people from my area have returned from Asia meanwhile, safe.

Update: My boss has just called (me and another co-worker) and we learnt that his SIL is "only" missed. They weren't in the plane which was supposed to bring them back, and they haven't heard anything else. Still bad enough, but at least there's a small glimmer of hope left...

Kirsten

[popcornbird]

:( I have never cried so much over a news. 9.0 is HORRIBLE...HORRIBLE. We heard this news in the car on our way home from a wonderful picnic with our cousins. It was a horrible shock. So devastating to hear. Personally, I feel ALL of us who are here and well-to-do should do ALL we can to help the MANY victims of the quakes. The ones that are gone, are sadly gone, but there are so many survivors that need our help. Its a horrible tragedy. I was shaking when I heard the story. 9.0. I can't even imagine. I do believe this was a sign from God, and my religion also teaches us that there will be a huge increase in natural disasters before the end of time. We can all see that increase before our eyes now. It is so scary to think about. God help those poor people, and protect us all from such tragedies. Its horrible. Just shows that the power of man is NOTHING compared to the power of God. We can continue to advance in technology, make new inventions, do all sorts of things, but when you look at the power of God, we're nothing but little insignificant creatures. We can only do as much as our minds have the capacity to allow us to do. If God wants to destroy us, there isn't ANYTHING we can do about it. A big wake up call for me, personally. Very scary. :(

[jazzzytina]

I just wanted to add my 2-cents here, kinda off topic, about the hurricanes that Florida experienced this year.

Florida was not the only state that was affected by these horrible hurricanes. Hurricane Ivan came up the east coast through the mountains (Mountains!) of North Carolina and washed out an entire community called Peeks Creek that had been there for generations. I read a follow up to the story recently in the paper (after having read about it when it actually happened). Homes were completely demolished and pushed off their foundations, a 51-year old nurse lost her life in a creek trying to save her pets, a firefighter lost his unborn child and his mother, and his wife, who was pregnant, lost a leg. Not to mention 7 people in that one neighborhood were killed. I know that doesn't sound like a lot compared to the tsunami victims, but the neighborhood only had about 30 people in it. That was an incredibly devastated area which will never be the same again. The topography has changed forever. People who fled Florida to get away from the hurricane were also affected.

You don't expect a hurricane to come hitting you in the mountains, and it was just devastating, and that area will probably never be the same again. When it hits so close to home, it really makes you think. And yes, I do believe in God, although I can't know the mind of God and can't say if we are in the "end times". The best I can do is thank Him every day that I have been spared these terrible tragedies, and pray that He will help those who have been affected, and donate my money and time to helping the affected ones.

Thanks for reading, sorry it was off topic.

[Barbara]

I think it is the same whether it is hurricanes quakes or volcanoes!

Nature is stronger than mankind - and being among these persons who are afraid we might destroy all nature I also feel a bit relieved about it.

[momoffuzzyfaces]

They've just increased the death toll to 155,000 with about 4,000 still missing. I just can't imagine it.:(

[AmberLee]

Originally posted by Karen
The lesson of this is, if you are ever somewhere and notice all the animals fleeing in one direction, GO WITH THEM! Not that there's a Pet Talker in existence that wouldn't instinctively go with them just to see all the animals and what they were doing ... ;)


{{{Karen}}} Thank you so much for this message -- it gave me a much needed laugh. Bless you!

[RICHARD]

Originally posted by Karen
The lesson of this is, if you are ever somewhere and notice all the animals fleeing in one direction, GO WITH THEM!

One instance where stepping into a dog/cat/animal pile isn't bad at all. :eek:

--------------------------------------------

Just when you think it's on the other side of the world-

A doctor my sister works with was killed in the disaster....:(

[Miranda_Rae]

I was in shock when I learned about it. Its so terribly sad. I can't believe it. The first time I heard about it was on PT, and i was just looking at the Titles and I saw one said said, "Tsunami" on it, and I thought, "Why are we talking about Japanese food?" :o I didn't open it because i didn't want to discuss Japanese food, but now I know its not Japanese food. I don't watch the news so I didn't learn about it till 3 days after it happened while I was watching ET. :( I was like, "What? What happened?!?!" I just can't believe it. My heart breaks for all the people that lost family members in it.

As for religious significance, yes I do think there is some.