With much sadness and shock I have watched some of the coverage on the Tsunami's that hit Asia. My heart goes out to the many thousands of lives devasted by this disaster and tears continue to flow for all the lives lost. There was little to no warning, it happened so fast over an incredibly large area. I can't begin to imagine the horror endured by those caught in the path of this destructive force of nature and the aftermath of insurmountable pain being felt. My thoughts and prayers are with all those affected by this, may they find the strength they will need. God bless them.

Cat, I've been following this story too, it is just horrible. What really breaks my heart is that so many of the victims were children. The official death toll has now reached 40,000 but there are some areas they haven't even been able to reach. James told me he read that one island has 30,000 people unaccounted for. My prayers are also being sent to the people of Asia who were affected by this disaster.

My prayers go out to all of the people who have been effected by this disaster. It's really frightening and a reminder that man cannot control everything. They were saying on the news, that the earthquake actually caused a shift in tectonic plates by 98 feet, and made the earth "wobble on it's axis." They said that days will be a fraction of a second shorter, and some islands moved, but they don't know how far yet. I can't imagine the fear and horror of the people who experienced this. I can't imagine the horror of having to look through piles of bodies, or pictures of them on a bulletin board, to find a loved one. God bless the workers and doctors, and volunteers who are brave enough to travel there to help.

I'm still getting over the shock for what’s been happening over there. It’s horrible to see those people being swept away in the waves.

The part I don't understand is that if those countries are consider high risk for Tsunamis...why aren't they equip with good quality warning systems?

I know their own countries can't afford it but since the UN are helping them now for relief...why couldn't they help them having a new warning systems in tourist area?

For instance…When other countries knows when its going to happen in advance, they could warn those poor countries and they could set off sirens ahead of time to warn people to head to higher grounds.

I also see that we Canadians have to pay to have our passports replaced in other countries. My son and his girlfriend are going on a 25 day bus tour in Europe this coming July. Since this incident happened I’m going to find everything about passports for each country. They’re going to tour 11-12 countries. I’m happy for them but yet scared.

My thoughts and prayers go out to all of the people who have been affected by this disaster.

I've been keeping a close eye on all of this ever since I heard about it, just hours after it happened. My heart breaks for all of these people! As of an hour or so ago, the death toll is now up to 116,000. I'll definitely be keeping all involved in my thoughts and prayers...

Spookette, here's an article about the lack of a warning system in that area: CNN: Lack of wave warning shocks Asia[/URL]
Basically, it boils down to the region not having enough money to put a warning system in place, plus, tsunamis historically haven't been common in the Indian Ocean. Hopefully they'll be able to put one in now!
Here's another related article: CNN: Can scientists be prepared?[/URL]
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Just thought I'd include some useful links here:

• News, resources, places to donate, etc.: CNN: Asia Tsunami Disaster[/URL]
• At Amazon.com[/URL] you can donate to the American Red Cross through their site. 100% of donations go to the Red Cross for the relief effort. Amazon has raised $3 million thus far!

Kell

[ December 30, 2004, 10:28 AM: Message edited by: KellKell ]

I have never been to the areas effected by the tsunami, however having traveled in Asia, I can truthfully say that there are some areas where the poverty is just unbelievable. Those of us in the U.S., Canada, the U.K., Australia, etc...have never seen anything like this. We think we have needy, impoverished people here, and we do -- but not like this.

Parts of Asia, especially tourist hot spots and large metropolitan areas, have glitzy, beautiful buildings; but, even in large cities there are still pockets of extreme poverty. When you go out into the country side, people are still living as they did a thousand years ago.

When we flew into Southern China, what struck me the most was what a study in contrasts the place was. We passed sky scrapers that rivaled anything in New York, but next to them were public housing that would have been torn down and condemned 10 years ago here.

I did not go into the "real" market place, but James did. After he came back to the hotel, he told me that he was glad I had not come along because of some of the things he saw. He compared it to something out of Charles Dickens' Victorian England -- but worse. He said he watched old people begging for money, children stealing food from the plates of tourists in restaurants, a little boy about 10 years of age, crawling on his stomach through the streets because he did not have crutches. In one place, a little boy of about 4 was seen begging with a tiny infant.

In one restaurant, we left a measely $2 tip on the table after a meal. Our young waiter grabbed it and literally danced down the ailes, teasing his co-workers. We later found out that tip would have been his equivalent of a week's salary. I hope the kid spent it on his family if they needed it, and if they didn't, I hope he got a case of Tsing Tao for his buddies, or maybe took his girl to dinner and a movie.

Sometimes we don't know how lucky we are until we see things like this. The lack of warning system does not surprise me. China has more industry than the places that were effected by the tsunami, and I seriously doubt the government could or would set aside money for something like that. Seeing how people in these countries live does change your perspective on things. The lives that were lost can never be replaced. I'm sure a lot of the funding will have to go for disease control, etc... Hopefully, money will be set aside for a warning system so a tragedy like this never happens again.

Carrie I agree, we don't always realize how lucky we are. I have friends who have traveled in some of the parts you mentioned and they too shared experiencing what you have and the impact it had upon them. I can only imagine how seeing it first hand would change your perspective on things as just hearing about it has changed mine. As has the tragedy that continues to unfold in front of the worlds eyes.

I too hope that warning systems will now be put in place. Having read some of the info, including the links Kell provided it sounds though even with a warning system those close to the epicenter still would not have had a chance. Many lives may have been saved but it's not certain how many as due to the infrastructure in developing Asia the warning would not have reached all.

We have seen so much extreme, damaging weather globaly of late, makes you wonder.

It will take years to rebuild and decades to heal as generations have been lost. =( May the world come together at this time of need. I too will continue to keep all those touched by this tragedy in my thoughts and prayers. There are so many still missing. I read that in Finland they are lighting a candle in their windows to help those still lost find their way home. I think I will do the same and light one for the safe return of those still missing and another for the spirits of those who have perished.

In Sweden, where I live, New Year was not as joyful as usuall. More than 3500 Swedes are still missing, almost everyone knows someone who was there or is still there. My cousin's friend, whom my mother also knows, was in Thailand to celebrate christmas (as a whole lot of swedes do). She and her family survived, but had to run for their lives to get away from the wave. I don't know how the US (where I guess most of the people here come from) was affected, if you had a lot of tourists there. Thailand is extremely popular for swedes, we had tens of thousands of people there. And being a country of 9 million, that is a lot of people.
The official New Year celebration was for once without fireworks, people were clad in black. The country is mourning.
A disaster of this magnitude is too large to grip. It is hard enough to understand the grief of one person or family. The total death toll is now over 125000. It is too many. It hurts just to think about it. It hurts to hear the people on tv tell the latest news, to see the dead bodies, to hear people who lost their families over christmas. It is too much.
My mother is watching tv as I write this. I can hear the sound of the wave all the way into my room. It is too much.
My love goes out to all those affected. I can't begin to understand what they are going through, and I have no comforting words for them, I can only cry.

love
/wilhelmina

(((((Wilhelmina))))) I have been hearing the reports also about how many tourists from Sweden and Finland have been affected by the tsunami. It is just so horrible to think about the magnitude of this. I like the idea of the candles in the window. I think I may do that myself.

I'm glad your cousin's friend and her family are okay. I know that was a terrifying experience for them. My thoughts and prayers are with all those who have been affected by this tragedy. It just seems we hear one nightmare story after another.

My husband and I have been following all of this as well. It's such a devistating event on such a huge scale! I can't even begin to imagine what this must be like to actually go through. My heart goes out to all of the people that have lost loved ones or can't locate their families. To all of the children orphaned and to those that where lost.


Wilhelmina! I'm so glad that your cousin's friend and family are ok and where able to make it to higher ground. This is an event that has affected so many people in so many different places. I can't agree more Wilhelmina, it's just too much!

My thoughts and prayers are with all of those affected...and I pray for all of those that are helping in the relief efforts.

Cat, I agree too that we have been seeing so much extreme and damaging weather lately. It's does make you wonder....and makes you realize how not in control we really are and how helpless we can all be.

It is still overwhelming to watch footage of the devastation and the immense relief efforts underway.

Some recent stories are relating to Ghost and Spirits. I hope posting this will not offend anyone. It is sad to hear reports of the many that remain earthbound.

I read a story in a foriegn news link that relayed some of the stories of those that have been frightened by encounters. A taxi driver spoke of one his recent fares: two foriegn passengers, a man and a woman got into his car wanting to go to the airport. Enroute he glanced into the rearview mirror and the two ppl that were there moments ago had vanished. People have reported hearing terrible sounds and cries for help around the beach area. Several witnesses reported seeing ppl on the shorelines that vanished as they approached them. One included a woman walking the shoreline calling for her child. Others have rushed out to give aide only to find noone there.

On the news tonight there was a segment titled the Tsunami Ghosts. Given our Western culture is not as open to the Ghost and Spirit world I was a little surprised to this. The footage shown was from Thailand, a land that is rich in spiritual belief. The Spirit world is a real as the physical one. Ancient rituals are being used to help free the spirits that remain. Buddist Monks are doing prayer ceremonies to help the Spirits. The footage also showed 'those that communicate with spirits' called Consongs (sorry not sure how to spell it) gathered on the beaches channeling. It was an interesting story but very sad at the same time.

I pray for those lost souls that have yet to cross over and hope those trying to help them are successful in doing so. May they all find their way.

I read a similar story yesterday Cat. With so many people whose lives were snuffed out without warning, I would imagine their spirits were not expecting death and may not really understand what happened to them.

I also hope and pray the victims of this tragedy make their way to the light and cross over.

On another board someone brought up an interesting concept. Based upon the life plan belief. That we choose what we will experience in life on this plane. And that when a disaster like this happens, many people chose to leave this world that way. Why all together? I don't know. Perhaps a karmic issue. If one believes in life as a way to learn, dying in this manor is rare and so many people going together is rare.

And it still stands to reason that some would hang around as spirits since their bodies died so suddenly and tragically. Some of those occurances may be just imprints on the ether too.

I think it makes the whole tragedy a little easier to deal with if it was planned. That they chose to exit this world this way. We all leave one way or another.

I agree Nakis. I am one that believes we charted our life before coming here, including any tragedy or hardship (I may have briefly noted that in one of your posts). We may also chart in some of these events so that others can learn or grow from them. Besides S Browne I have read several other individuals written work/teachings that believe that as well. Some believe we write in more than one exit point, how or why we select which one I don't know? It makes you wonder why some beat incredible odds and survived while the person next to them did not? Perhaps it is merely due to what was already planned? It does make this whole tragedy a little easier to deal with if it were.

I also agree some of the accounts may be imprints. As sad as it is that some have remained due to such a sudden death there is some light within it, for me hearing these accounts further confirms what I already believe. Perhaps it may also give light to some who are unsure if the spirit does live on?