Before and After Satellite Photos of Tsunami

[adamark]

Amazing photos of tsunami damage (http://homepage.mac.com/demark/tsunami/8.html)

[Funka Genocide]

ah man, thats terrible. You know they have almost no early warning system there, thats how this tragedy occured. Could you imagine? Looking out your window and seeing such a terrifying wave coming towards you. I shudder just thinking about it. These are the kinds of things governments are supposed to protect against, instead an entire nation is so bereft of responsibility that they allow this to happen.

I'm sickened and troubled. I'll stop ranting now, but I will say this, Thailand was in trouble long before this tragedy, but only now do we see all of these sumaritans coming out of the wood works. I'm not trying to discourage donations, far from it, I'm just a little frightened by the bare faced opportunism of the world.

I hope sincerely that the survivors can get back on their feet someday. I'd pray if I believed it would help.

[adamark]

what i still dont understand is this: was it ONE giant wave or was it many large waves in rapid succession? i am ignorant to how it works. :fighter:

[The Kneumatic Pnight]

It usually opperates as a series of waves that get progressively worse. Like ripples in a pond but, well, you know... bigger.

[Bob The Mercenary]

I heard from almost every news outlet that it was two waves. One looked like just a freak big wave that you see sometimes when you go to any beach in the U.S. The second one was the big one that washed a couple blocks inland.

[adamark]

that's it? a couple of blocks? i guess i was imagining something more "Day After Tomorrow"-esque

but given the fact that it hit thousands of miles of coasts, the death toll isn't surprising.

i guess what IS surprising is that people can't find food and shelter. if it only hit 2 blocks inland, you don't have to walk very far to get to an unaffected area. match that with the fact that casualties are spread over thousands of miles... i just don't understand why there is such a relief problem. it appears to be more of a lack of organization than any other cause.

does anyone have more information or perhaps a link?

[ChaosMage]

The effect most certainly was not "a few blocks inland." (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/tsunami). Tsunamis can be 1, 2 or sometimes more waves. Most common is one massive wave that can be up to 50 feet high that floods for tens or in low lying areas hundreds of miles inland. Example: If Finland was hit with a tsunami, because much of the country lies below sea level, it is doubtful the land where it is right now would continue to exist.

The reason the deathtoll was so massive was because 1) Many of those islands are small and low lying 2) No warning, so everyone was still sitting on the becah sunbathing at the time.

Also, there were other complicating factors. There was an earthquake first, so after the earthquake (which was felt about a half hour to an hour before the tsunami) everyone was outside assessing damage, thinking that the earthquake was the only problem they had to deal with that day. They were in the streets, where the water could travel easily and sweep people up. The earthquake also helped create alot of the debris you see floating in the water.

In this particular case, there were two waves. After the first, causing the major wave, there was an after shock earthquake which caused another wave. It wasn't nearly as large, but it did screw things up even more.

"Day After Tomorrow"-esque is indeed what we're dealing with, frankly, Adamark. That more people didn't die is mostly a function of good luck and smaller waves than in the movie.

Also, I'm interested to see where the tree/plant line will be in about 5 years (ala pictures 12 and 13). Plant life tends to be much more resilient than animal life.

[Bob The Mercenary]

that's it? a couple of blocks? i guess i was imagining something more "Day After Tomorrow"-esque

Well, most of the land it hit stood at an average elevation of around three feet. So some parts of land (mostly the peninsulas) were completely overrun by water. The wave washed completely over them and continued rolling on the other side.

[Kuja]

HOLY FO-SHI...Man, they got the shit kicked out of them real bad.

[Delira]

Wow, most of the trees got uprooted...
I feel so bad for those people.

[Krylo]

Delira and Kuja: This is the discussion forum. You have to actually CONTRIBUTE to a thread, not just say "Darn. Sucks to be them."

Both of you are warned for spam.