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December 28, 2004
Terror in Paradise ...
The devastation now visible in the Far East following the earthquake off the North West Coast of Sumatra is appalling. Even more so is the mounting death toll as more and more bodies are washed up, areas cut off by the quake or the tsunami are reached, and yet more devastation is unveiled. The human tragedy will not end there, either, as, for many of the populace of these areas, their entire livelihood has been destroyed.
Fire, water, wind, three "elements" which can cause enormous damage, yet over which we have little if any control. A Tsunami of these proportions striking the UK coast would do almost as much damage, the only difference being that the population density is lower. The scope and scale of the area affected is almost unbelievable as well. The quake was off Indonesia, yet the Island Nations of the Maldives, Seychelles and the other low lying island chains dotted across the Indian Ocean have also been badly hit. Nor has the coast of Africa been spared, with Somalia having devastation along its extended coastline and the death toll there being a matter for conjecture!
Interestingly, some of the media have suggested that the affected nations failed to respond to the "Early Warning System" and did not alert people. This is not entirely true, in fact there is no "Early Warning System for the Indian Ocean where Tsunamis are thankfully rare. Such a system does exist in the Pacific and the Pacific Rim Nations all have the means to maintain it and to act on the warnings. Not so the poorer nations surrounding the Indian Ocean - hence no Early Warning System.
Speaking to a friend who I had feared may have been in Phuket (he goes there to race a 71 foot yacht every year) I was relieved to learn that this year, because of work commitments in the UAE, he was at home in Dubai. Yet even there, inside the Persian Gulf, they have had a huge "surge" and a series of huge waves that have done damage along the gulf coast. Part of the reason for this is that the gulf is fairly shallow, it has had the original tsunami waves "funneled" into it, and now the waves are being reflected back and forth in its confines. I have other friends in Mahe and in Victoria, colleagues from those nations whom I have had the privilege of training, and I wait with some anxiety to hear from them or to hear that they are also OK. According to CNN the Seychelles and the Maldives, being fairly low lying, had the waves wash quite literally straight over them. No one seems to know at this time what the death toll is in either place.
It is a relief to know that the Aid and other International Emergency services are already mobilising to help. The US Navy has already got aircraft and ships on their way. In the days of the British Empire there would have been a fleet of warships already on its way from the nearest RN Base and more under orders from other areas. Sadly, the UK no longer has the fleet or the resources to do much more than make political gestures and send some "advisors". The real work will be done by the volunteer organsisations of which we have, thankfully, a number.
For the rest of us, our prayers to support the dying, the bereaved, and those who will work to save them, to comfort them, and to deal with the thousands of bodies are not just desirable, they are essential. If there is an appeal for help from any agency sending Aid, I would urge you all to support it. All of humanity is affected by this disaster, and all of humanity needs to respond.
Posted by The Gray Monk at December 28, 2004 08:58 AM