Boxing Day Tsunami - 1 year anniversary

[hayley]

I can't beleive it was a year ago today that Thailand was struck by one of the biggest natural disaters ever. I remember watching the heartbreaking footage of people just being swept to their deaths with tears streaming down my face.

Let us take a moment to think about the people who lost their lives. The death toll is still unknown but is said to be about 220,000. Let us also take a moment to think about the people who have lost family members and friends, and people who are not giving up hope that someone important in their lives may still be alive.

As you carry on with your day, do not forget the hundereds of thousands of people who cruely had their life taken away from them.

[aussiecreeder]

i can't believe a year has passed so quickly.....
the power of nature is quite frightening really. we look at terrorist attacks and the like taking a couple of thousand lives and the world stops and rightfully so. a tsunami takes 220,000 (perhaps more maybe 300,000) and just oblierates the economies of countries like thailand and sri lanka. i remember asking how such a thing could be allowed to happen but such questions don't have answers. after such a disaster humanity is still exactly the same, as selfish as always which is a great shame.

[RMadd]

I think I was actually reading some story, maybe about Petra Nemcova & her boyfriend who died in the tsunami, and I had completely forgotten that it was just last December 26th! I guess it came to be overshadowed in 2005 by Katrina & the Kashmir earthquake. It's still amazing how devastating those waves were, though. I remember watching, last spring or summer, a special on PBS (the gov't-run broadcast station in the states) about how it formed, why it was so devastating, and, of course, images of the aftermath. I couldn't even imagine having to deal with that and I feel so very fortunate, living inland, that I hopefully won't have to worry about something like that in the near future.

[Ana4Stapp]

This was so sad...today afternoon I read a story about an english girl who saved 100 people including her parents, because when she saw the sea she remembered her classes about tsunamis and after that she tried to convince her parents and also the hotel employeees to evacuate the building.

[hayley]

Quote: (Originally Posted by RMadd)

and I had completely forgotten that it was just last December 26th! I guess it came to be overshadowed in 2005 by Katrina & the Kashmir earthquake.

You're right, I hadn't "forgotten" about it so to speak, but it wasn't thought about as often as the first few weeks after it happened. When you see the footage over again and hear the stories of death and survival, it is then that you remember the massive destruction it caused. It's still so sad.

Quote: (Originally Posted by Ana4Stapp)

This was so sad...today afternoon I read a story about an english girl who saved 100 people including her parents, because when she saw the sea she remembered her classes about tsunamis and after that she tried to convince her parents and also the hotel employeees to evacuate the building

Hmm? Maybe you're thinking about the English girl who did save a lot of people, but her and her family were on the beach and she saw the water draw back, then she remembered what her teacher had taught her in school about how Tsunami's form. She screamed at everyone to run from the beach.

Did anyone see on the news those candle lanterns that were lit and released into the sky? That was so beautiful, and such a nice way to remember the ones that lost their lives.

[Dogstar]

Wow, I can't believe a year has passed already. What a terrible year, natural-disaster-wise. So much loss and devastation. And hide, you're so right about people still being so selfish. As long as it doesn't affect them, they don't have to think about it, or so the reasoning goes. It's very sad in this day and age to see how the helping hand is just withdrawn. My thoughts and prayers go out to anyone who lost loved ones and friends, homes, and livelihoods. The power of nature is really unmatched.