Some people I spoke to in the US and Europe still cannot comprehend the drastic devastation of the Asian earthquake and Tsuamis. I like how William Rees-Mogg puts it across in his article on the Times.
“...The earthquake itself is said to be 1,000 kilometres (620 miles) in length; the seabed was opened up as though by a zip fastener; this event threw up a gigantic wave three storeys high, which travelled for thousands of kilometres...”
“...If such an earthquake happened in Europe, we would be able to trace the fault from London to Rome, or to Berlin...If a tsunami ten metres high stormed its way up the Thames, half of London would be under water. If such an earthquake ripped through the San Andreas fault in California, it would virtually tear the state in two, and cause trillions rather than billions of dollars of damage...”
The quake is caused when the Indian plate moved into the Burma plate. There is said to be a 1000 times more energy released from this compared to the devastating Kobe Earthquake in Japan in 1995. In fact, this has caused some of the lands and islands in South Asia to move and may need a redraw on the map. This should give people an idea of how huge the swells and Tsunamis were.
In my earlier post here, I mentioned that Singapore was spared by the physical shock of this earthquake and Tsunami...however, Singaporeans are NOT spared.
So far, 7 and counting have died. All holidaying and visiting in Sri Lanka and Phuket. 450 Singaporeans are in Phuket at that time and hundreds of holidaying Singaporeans are still not accounted for from Malaysia, Thailand to the Maldives.
There are so many holidaying foreigners in Phi Phi Island of Thailand who have been killed or missing as well. Most of them are beachgoers and surfers catching the what-were-once the beautiful southern beaches of Thailand.
What also was very sad is that there are reports of many women and children who drowned on the shores of Aceh, Indonesia. They had noticed that unusual low tides and had rushed out in hordes to admire the beautiful low-lying corals. What they didnt realize is that this is usually a sign of a fast impending approach of a major seismic wave as it gathers its energy for a major strike. Fishermen at shore, who knew about the symptons of receding water to be a sign of an approaching tsunami, were too late in warning their wives, children and other people. The entire shoreline of Aceh, Indonesia is destroyed in this disaster.
“...If the trough of the tsunami wave reaches the coast first, this causes a phenomenon called drawdown, where it appears that sea level has dropped considerably. Drawdown is followed immediately by the crest of the wave which can catch people observing the drawdown off guard...”
“...As a tsunami nears the shallower water close to the shore, the viscous drag of the continental shelf slows the front of the wave. The first sign of an approaching tsunami is usually a significant retreat of the sea. As a result, the trailing waves pile on top of the waves in front of them (like a rug crumpled against a wall), thereby significantly increasing the height of the wave before hitting the shore. Although a tsunami advances much slower as it approaches land, its momentum is powerful enough to flatten houses, buildings and trees and carry ships far inland...”
We also should not forget that there are so many bodies that have been washed out to the Ocean, probably not to be found, leaving many affected families and relatives grieving for the missing...a death with no confirmation of a body. I dont know if there are any griefs in the world that can be more painful than that.
While watching the footage of the scenes of destruction on TV, while heart-wrenching as it is, it is heart-warming to see people of all colors and races carrying each other and helping each other out. Nobody cares what you are, who you are, where you are from or what your beliefs and ideals are.
For me, for that one moment, the entire world unites.