Asia Disaster Photos (some GRAPHIC)

[Jessica Leigh]

simply terrible... absolutely awful..... but honestly i believe these things happen for a reason... either to control overpopulation or something.... God has some plan.... even though we may not understand it.... i feel awful for these people- maybe this catastrophe is to teach people (such as the India indians) a lesson; subscribe to the tsunami warning thing based in hawaii.... they would have known about the tsunami 90 mins before it hit....

has anyone seen the satellite photos from right before the tsunami hit? its waves and masses of swirly white foam are crazy.... i grew up in Socal (5 miles inland) and have seen my share of swirly white foam from the ocean... but these tsunami photos are crazy scary....

[estranged4life]

Originally Posted by Jessica Leigh

has anyone seen the satellite photos from right before the tsunami hit? its waves and masses of swirly white foam are crazy.... i grew up in Socal (5 miles inland) and have seen my share of swirly white foam from the ocean... but these tsunami photos are crazy scary....

I saw those on the news tonight, It was weird to see the beachfront disappear then reappear later as if nothing ever happened.

I'll take our F5 scale (Winds up to 316MPH) Oklahoma tornadoes anyday of the week over a tsunami...

Brian j.

[Villavic]

I can't say a word, after watching those pics.

Do you know I can't find a f***ing site in Peru where I can give a collaboration? The peruvian red cross website doesn't say a word!!!! Do I have to send a transfer to a foregin country??? It's a shame!!!

[tynan88]

I think what shocked me even more was that in yesterdays paper they had photos of some of the dead Australians in there, including several young children, just terrible, and makes you think more because it is so close to home.

Tynan

[GateandGarden]

Originally Posted by Jessica Leigh

simply terrible... absolutely awful..... but honestly i believe these things happen for a reason... either to control overpopulation or something.... God has some plan.... even though we may not understand it.... i feel awful for these people- maybe this catastrophe is to teach people (such as the India indians) a lesson; subscribe to the tsunami warning thing based in hawaii.... they would have known about the tsunami 90 mins before it hit....

It's events like this that make me suspect more and more that there is no god, at least not one that did anything more than create the universe and then leave it to its own devices. Even that (like all spiritual matters) is arguable. Either way, I've decided that I can't be comfortable with revering a deity that can allow these things to happen. I'm thinking either life is a game or it isn't. I believe the latter. If I'm to be a puppet taken from this earth by some insane natural disaster without warning and for no apparent reason, it seems like someone is playing a game. And I don't find it the least bit amusing. I'd rather think no one is in control if that's the case.

And that is all my opinion and my cynicism showing through. It is not meant to criticize anyone else's beliefs. Those are merely ideas of mine and I am a fallible human being.

But something I'm certain of is that there's no way in hell I'd tell someone who lost his or her entire family to this catrastrophe that it was "all part of God's plan." In fact, I would have absolutely nothing insightful at all to offer that person because I cannot begin to comprehend what that person is going through. (I'm not implying that you would say that, Jessica; this isn't directed at you. I hope it doesn't come off like that).

[GateandGarden]

We're on the same page, Lux. Just wanted to say that I feel the same way.

Hillary

[tynan88]

Thats very good Lux, I m religious though and believe as hard as it is sometimes everything has its place. By India Indians too I think it is meant as oppposed to Native Americans, as not much is taught about them I think.

These photos are very hard to see knowing my grandparents spend so much time in Thailand, we have a strong connection to Thailand, my uncle who died in February had lived in Thailand for last ten years with his boyfriend, I suspect he died of AIDS related diseases but no one will tell me, but so yer, I feel in particular a strong connection with Thailand, as do most Australians with this region, I mean Australia is in Asia! We are part of this, if this Earthquake had happened a bit further south (I mean even fourty fifty kilometres), it coulda possibly wiped out Perth on our west coast, a large city.

Tynan

[GateandGarden]

Originally Posted by Lux

I read your post Hillary, after I posted and realised it's basically the same. Good to know.


Hmmm, I try to have respect for religious beliefs (that's basically a lie, but I'm too scared to come right out seeing as the majority of the world would then despise me) but I really hate that whole argument that everything happens for a reason. I was just talking about this with someone who is religious and still agreed with me. I actually find it offensive when the occasion arises and someone says it to me, as if there could ever be a reason for certain things. I think it comes down to the fact that people need structure and reason, cause and effect, and most have an unwillingness to recognise that everything is random and chaotic. Just incredibly bad luck. But this is about a very real event, not some philosophical waffle......although this is a message board not the General Assembly.

As far as 'Indians' go, it's weird that Indians who make up the world's second largest population should need extra reference when they are being referred to by their own name.......oh those Chinese? You mean the ones from China? I think it's just Americans though, when the world refers to an Indian, they mean these so-called 'India Indians'. Meh, I just find the situation odd and also insulting to both Indians and Native Americans that they never bothered to give Native Americans their own name, or better yet refer to them as their traditional name.

I've been away for awhile but I came back to see what you had said, and all I can say is I couldn't agree more. Man, I am really, really beginning to disbelieve the philosophy about everything happening for a reason. Please accept the nice gestures that are these somewhat inappropriate emoticons for such a gloomy subject matter------>

[wondergirl9847]

Miracle girl survives tsunami on a door

Wed Dec 29,12:35 PM ET

NEW DELHI, India (AFP) - Meghan Rajshekhar, 13, disappeared along with 77 other people when the giant tsunami struck an Indian air force base by the sea on the remote Car Nicobar island.


Locals found her walking in a daze along the beach on Tuesday after clinging to a door on the stormy seas for two days, the Hindustan Times reported Wednesday.

The air force officer's daughter and her parents were swept away along with countless thousands others as a massive earthquake off neighbouring Indonesia sent tsunami crashing across the Indian ocean.

"She told defence personnel that she had cried out 11 times when choppers hovered over the ocean in search of survivors on Sunday," the daily quoted a flight lieutenant Bhandarkar as saying.

"No one spotted her."

But Meghna, badly bruised, told rescuers she knew which direction land lay and just kept floating on towards the shore.

"In the end it was the waves that washed so many thousands of others away that washed her ashore," the Hindustan Times said.

"This was a miracle in the midst of the disaster the tsunami wrought," the air base station commander V. V. Bandhopadhyay told the Press Trust of India.

The miracle girl also had to keep an eye out for numerous sea snakes.

Meghna was taken to the Andamans capital Port Blair and on to relatives in Hyderabad after medical treatment, Lieutenant Governor Ram Kapse said.

"Her parents, sadly, haven't survived."

The 76 others are still reported missing.

PTI said 100 people perished at the base.

At least 4,000 lost their lives on the Andamans chain of 572 islands, but many thousands more are feared dead, officials say, as rescuers struggle to reach remote islands.

Car Nicobar was very badly hit and the air base severely damaged.

The Nicobar group lies about 150 kilometres (90 miles) from Sumatra.

The Andamans, 1,200 kilometres (745 miles) from mainland India, are spread over 800 kilometres (500 miles) with a population of about 350,000.

[skcin]

Originally Posted by Lux

On a more relevant note, I don't want to actually look at the pictures. Like many people can't watch the footage from NY, I can't look at pictures of it hitting knowing that those dwellings are/were full of people.

I can't either Lux. I don't want to hide from the reality of this tragedy, but there is a limit to what the human mind can take, IMO.

BTW, some Americans do refer to "Native Americans" by their traditional names (Cherokee, Seneca, etc.) But you're right, most don't.

[heyjupiter678]

Originally Posted by Lux

I dare say it's got more to do with plate tectonics than with a God, but if it did, well that's reason enough to abandon all faith. A god who's plan it is to kill more than 100 000 people?

At least one-third of whom are children. That's a hell of a plan.

[strandinthewind]

Originally Posted by Lux

You mean like Sept 11 happened for a reason? I dare say it's got more to do with plate tectonics than with a God, but if it did, well that's reason enough to abandon all faith. A god who's plan it is to kill more than 100 000 people? I thought those supreme beings were more to do with love and nurturing than drowning and crushing. I'm not trying to discredit religion at a time like this, in fact I'm actually speaking up for this God people talk about. I mean, I'm sure if it existed it wouldn't want to be accused of planning to kill masses of people.

The logic behind the comparison of a natural disater to the unnatural events of 9/11 is specious. Nature has for years run its course and cannot for the most part be controlled. Man made events, on the other hand, can be controlled

But, I, as always, getr your point - which my getting should qualify us for being frightened

[77Rumours77]

those are some of the most horrible picture i have ever seen in my entire life...... It's a shame how quick something like this can happen.