8.9-magnitude earthquake in Asia - Page 2

3ric · 12-30-2004, 08:35 AM

Over 6000 tourists from northern Europe reported missing:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/asi...ic/4134345.stm

Galaril · 12-30-2004, 08:48 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Glengoyne

Water is a very powerful thing. Tsunamis are only hundreds of feet tall in Bad movies. The reason this is such a problem is that in many of the areas that were hit, the max. elevation is only a few feet above sea level. A lot of of the coastal plains of Shri Lanka, Indonesia, and possibly Thailand are actually below sea level. That is why the Cyclones(Hurricanes) are so devastating in these places.

As to the unimpressiveness of the "wave". A lot of the reported deaths are from blunt force trauma. In other words people slammed by the wave against other objects. A good number of the drownings were caused by people being knocked unconscious or tangled in debris that the wave had thrown them into. FWIW less than 12 inches of flowing water is strong enough to move a loaded dump truck sideways. So while a ten to twelve foot surge of water may look unimpressive on video, I'm fairly certain it would get your attention in person.

Edit: to add that there are a lot of people in the region that live on small islands. Imagine what a 10 plus foot wall of water does to an island with a maximum elevation of 15 feet. EVERYTHING is swept out to sea.

I read that the maldives is only a average of 1 meter(3 feet above sea level.So, a 10 meter(30 foot wall of water moving very, very fast is terrifying in and of itself.

fantastic flying froggies · 12-30-2004, 08:54 AM

Whole islands moved! The northern point of Indonesia is now 15 meters (that's roughly 45 feet!) away from where it was prior to the wave.

Another smaller island moved 2 meters (6 feet) up...

Maps will have to be redrawn because of this tsunami...

Galaril · 12-30-2004, 11:11 AM

The tip of Sumatra moved 30 meters about 92 feet!

Easy Mac · 12-30-2004, 01:12 PM

Just doing number crunching, .002% of the world's population died in about 6 hours or 1/50,000 people. Thats crazy.

(120,000/6,000,000,000)

sterlingice · 12-31-2004, 09:02 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Easy Mac

Just doing number crunching, .002% of the world's population died in about 6 hours or 1/50,000 people. Thats crazy.

(120,000/6,000,000,000)

Wow.

SI

Coder · 12-31-2004, 09:51 AM

3500 Swedes reported missing or dead so far.. mostly children

Neon_Chaos · 01-02-2005, 08:28 PM

Now over 110,000...

Neon_Chaos · 01-02-2005, 08:55 PM

Scratch that. CNN has the toll at 155,000 dead.

Wth Indonesia suffering over 94,000.

JeeberD · 01-02-2005, 08:59 PM

Damn.

Simply astounding...

12-30-2004, 08:54 AM	#53
fantastic flying froggies Pro Rookie Join Date: Nov 2002 Location: Sunny South of France	Whole islands moved! The northern point of Indonesia is now 15 meters (that's roughly 45 feet!) away from where it was prior to the wave. Another smaller island moved 2 meters (6 feet) up... Maps will have to be redrawn because of this tsunami... __________________ Detroit Vampires (CFL) : Ve 're coming for your blood! Camargue Flamingos (WOOF): pretty in Pink

12-31-2004, 09:51 AM	#57
Coder College Prospect Join Date: Nov 2000 Location: Gothenburg, Sweden	3500 Swedes reported missing or dead so far.. mostly children __________________ IFL - Vermont Mountaineers ~ I am an idiot, walking a tight rope of fortunate things ~

01-02-2005, 08:59 PM	#60
JeeberD General Manager Join Date: Nov 2002 Location: The Town of Flower Mound	Damn. Simply astounding... __________________ UTEP Miners!!! I solemnly swear to never cheer for TO

12-30-2004, 11:11 AM	#54
Galaril Pro Starter Join Date: Jan 2004	The tip of Sumatra moved 30 meters about 92 feet!

12-30-2004, 01:12 PM	#55
Easy Mac Registered User Join Date: Nov 2001 Location: Here	Just doing number crunching, .002% of the world's population died in about 6 hours or 1/50,000 people. Thats crazy. (120,000/6,000,000,000)

01-02-2005, 08:28 PM	#58
Neon_Chaos Pro Starter Join Date: Nov 2004 Location: Parañaque, Philippines	Now over 110,000...

01-02-2005, 08:55 PM	#59
Neon_Chaos Pro Starter Join Date: Nov 2004 Location: Parañaque, Philippines	Scratch that. CNN has the toll at 155,000 dead. Wth Indonesia suffering over 94,000.

Currently Active Users Viewing This Thread: 1 (0 members and 1 guests)