It was today that the news was reaching the world of the true devastation and carnage of the tsunami of 2004, on Boxing Day. I thought we would take a minute to remember all the victims of one of the worst natural disasters in recent centuries. I would think we owe them that at least…
My family and I for one are remembering, as we almost some family members (almost) so this has some emotion for us. A plane delay in Bangkok had them miss their flight to Phuket for their honeymoon and the hotel, on which they had beachside rooms – was gone after the disaster. They would have been on the beach that morning…
As we sit in the comforts of homes after a great Christmas, hopefully around loved ones, how about taking a moment and remembering the tragedy of 2004? We are all good now and the damage has been repaired and lives move on. We are lucky today, and will be tomorrow. It was a good Christmas was it not?
230,000 to possibly 310,000 thousand people died, that many more were homeless. Thousands of families lost loved ones and the carnage was beyond imagining. For many the psychological damage still goes on to this day, hopefully we will never have to see another disaster in our lives this bad again. We hope.
- The force of the earthquake was more than 550 million times that of the energy released at Hiroshima or the equivalent of 370 years of energy use in America.
- The earthquake was still detectable more than 4 months after the initial shocks.
- People died in India, Indonesia, Thailand, India and as far away as South Africa. Yemen, Kenya, Somalia, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Tanzania and the Maldives were also effected.
- Norway lost more people than any other tragedy in the last 300 years.
The force of the earthquake was more than 550 million times that of the energy released at Hiroshima or the equivalent of 370 years of energy use in America.
For an amazing story read about John Chroston or Tilly Smith… it shows how a little knowledge can save lives.
*I did not print this for theatrics, I have served with Search and Rescue in Canada and know what the anguish of the lost is. Don’t know if you are taking any time to remember but it would be a good thing to do.
