This morning is the five year anniversary of The Indian Ocean tsunami that killed over 200,000 people and hit 11 countries. One of the most devestating natural disasters in human history and the most widespread. I had the chance to see first hand the devestation in Thailand a month after the disaster and two years ago also went to Sri Lanka to see how the recovery was going. While the pace of recovery was fast given the amount of damage some of these places may never fully recover. So take a moment today to keep all thos who died and those still recovering in your thoughts.
<object width="640" height="505"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/a-8_wEm7t8k&hl=en_US&fs=1&"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/a-8_wEm7t8k&hl=en_US&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="640" height="505"></embed></object> <object width="640" height="505"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/mcuVqxn5Qpc&hl=en_US&fs=1&"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/mcuVqxn5Qpc&hl=en_US&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="640" height="505"></embed></object> I'm really surprised there weren't any posts in this thread - certainly the most devastating disaster i've seen in my lifetime. The first video is a compilation the second is the earthquake and tsunami in Banda Aceh. It's really hard to believe it has already been five years since this happened.
The tsunami was the probably the worst thing I have ever seen and will ever see in my lifetime. I've visited parts of southern Sri Lanka (Galle), before the disaster, and heard most of those areas were wiped out.
it didn't kill americans so it didn't really happen. sorry but there is a reason why its not being played up like a katrina anniversy will be
I was there two years ago and a lot of those places have recovered pretty well although there still was evidence of damage.
Sadly you're probably right. That said the one thing that struck me about the Katrina and tsunami recovery was that in Thailand and Sri Lanka at least they were recovering faster than Louisiana and Mississippi.
Sorry to hear that. Pardon me for asking but just curious, what country were they in? Did they live there or were they there for vacation? What a lot of people forget was that this was one of the worst natural disasters in the history of countries like Denmark and Switzerland considering how many of the dead were tourists from those countries vacationing in Thailand and Sri Lanka.
is that why we are discussing it here? the Earth lost a quarter million people that day. it was felt over all of humanity. i've seen plenty of discussion and re-read hundreds of stories, and am thankful it was brought up here to remind us of the lives lost and the destruction caused.
He is being sarcastic. But he makes a good point. The Tsunami killed many more people than Katrina did. So why isn't it as big of a deal here in the U.S.? Because it didn't happen to us. That's what he is trying to say. It's the truth. No need to preach to us about humanity.
I live in Chennai, India.. a coastal city in southern india.. although my city was not badly affected when compared to other coastal cities.. it was still terrible.. I still remember the chaos that prevailed after it happened.. almost half the city was clueless abt what happened.. "Tsunami" was a word that was totally new to most Indians at that time.. and I thought it was a small tidal wave or something and drove all the way to the beach.. only to find out that many people had lost their lives.. the exp was pretty horrible to say the least.
Cool beans. I was just in your town for business and stayed with a friend's family in the Santhome district. When are they supposed to complete the marina sidewalk renovation? I used to go running along the water in the early morning hours and would see the perpetually under construction walkway.
wait, is he being sarcastic or trying to say something of truth? are you his spokesperson? I got the message, sarcastic or not. i am simply positing that it is a big deal in the U.S.
I honestly don't think it is or ever was a big deal for most average, Joe-American folks in the USA. For educated folks on the internet, they are well aware of what happened on that day. But it wouldn't surprise me if half of the American population couldn't name at least 2 countries affected by the Tsunami.
i was in sri lanka a few days before the tsunami hit my hotel was a little cottage type deal on the coast. we were gonna stay longer there but decided to leave as scheduled to india we are so glad that we did on the return flight home we had a day layover again in sri lanka and we went out to where we stayed at and the place was completely gone it was really cray to think about it. i had friends who lost family in that tsunami RIP
whoa. thats awesome! good to know! and i hope you enjoyed your stay (without getting harassed by the cab drivers ) they just finished renovating the sidewalk and opened it a week ago..I went thr yesterday and it looks pretty good now.. but i dunno how long it will stay that way..
