|
An Earthquake In The Indian Ocean Generates A Wave And Then A Day Of NewsDECEMBER 26, 2004 · 15:56
A magnitude 9.1 undersea earthquake off the west coast of Sumatra generated a tsunami that reached the coast of twelve countries within hours. Deaths so far are in excess of 100,000, which makes this the deadliest natural disaster in recorded history, and the figure is still rising.
THE COAST. THIS IS THE ONLY PHOTOGRAPH THAT WAS TAKEN FROM A HELICOPTER.
( FILE PHOTO )
THE COAST. THIS IS THE ONLY PHOTOGRAPH THAT WAS TAKEN FROM A HELICOPTER.
There is no final figure and there will not be one for weeks.
BANDA ACEH, Indonesia, December 26 -- A massive undersea earthquake struck off the west coast of Sumatra early this morning, generating a series of waves that struck the coasts of Indonesia, Sri Lanka, Thailand, India, Bangladesh, Myanmar, Malaysia, Somalia, Tanzania, Kenya and Seychelles.
Reports of deaths in Aceh province and in northern and western Thailand are in the tens of thousands. There is no final figure and there will not be one for weeks.
The cause was an undersea earthquake on a plate boundary that everybody knew about, at a location that everybody on earth has agreed is capable of producing precisely this, which is the sentence that this desk has been waiting thirty years to be able to write and now regrets having written.
Corrections: none so far. Published items are never corrected, they are replaced,
and the replacement keeps the original in the archive, where nobody will look for it.
COMMENTS (377) — showing the 7 that survived moderation
▲22
T0
theytookmynamein_04
Joined: Apr 2004 · Posts: 60
· Profile: DELETED · 2 minutes later
my aunt is in the bandy. the hotel is in the bandy. i have read the same news on this page every day for four days because it is the only place i have read anything at all.
▲31
G
GoneFishingDave
Joined: Apr 2001 · Posts: 2887
· A caravan · an hour later
i am a structural engineer. i want to say one technical thing and then stop: the warning system worked in eleven countries. the people who died on the beaches had been told. this is not a comfort. it is the finding.
▲42
T
TruthTeller69
Joined: Mar 2003 · Posts: 654
· Akron, OH · same afternoon
these comments are full of people who knew somebody. i am one of them. i am not going to say any more than that here and i am sorry for the noise.
▲64
D
DisappointedByEveryone
Joined: Apr 2004 · Posts: 76
· wet · that evening
every time. every single time somebody says 'there is no final figure' and means it as reassurance. it is not reassurance. it is the only honest sentence available.
▲75
JT
just_passing_through
Joined: Dec 2003 · Posts: 34
· nowhere in particular · the next morning
i have been reading this paper for forty years. i have read it for obituaries and stock tips and football. i have never read it like this. please put the date at the top in a big font.
▲4
TK
the_government_knows
Joined: Aug 2001 · Posts: 3420
· Classified · the following day
they are reporting this while it is happening. that is the whole reason to have a newspaper. that is the thing you do and this is what it looks like.
House rules, posted since the beginning and enforced by one person:
be the kind of commenter who would be tolerable in person. do not correct people's grammar
unless it is fun. no fonts larger than 11 pixels. this is not a newspaper. it is a
website.
|