Tsunami death toll approaches 300,000

[lovuian]

http://feeds.bignewsnetwork.com/?sid=296c3e70ac798db8

Big News Network.com Tuesday 25th January, 2005 (UPI)

Indonesia has increased its number of dead and missing by 55,000 to more than 228,000 people from December's tsunami.

That brings the total death toll across the 11 affected nations to more than 281,000, up from 225,000 last week, The Times of London said Tuesday.

In Sri Lanka, the second worst-hit country, the death toll stands at 30,957 and the number of missing set at 5,637.

more...

That thing was devastating and the news media never really reported the real death totals... We won't know for along time how many really died!!!

[solinvictus]

1. In the big scheme of things...

that's not many dead considering two countries in Asia have populations of over a billion.

[osaMABUSh]

2. Wow - that certainly is a long view of the situation

Not a post I expected to see. By that rational 9/11 didn't even happen.

[bear425]

4. That's like 9/11 times 100 ...

yeah, right. That's not so bad. /sarcasm.

edit: spelling, of course.

[qanda]

3. WHAT??????

Did I take a detour and end up on FR? What kind of messed up thinking is that?

[bear425]

6. Are you being sarcastic, or just insensitive? n/t

[solinvictus]

8. I guess insensitive...

considering the number of people populating the geographic area, it's not that much of a number. Regarding the September 11 attacks, more Americans die of hunger than of terrorism every year.

[bear425]

9. I guess your comment just struck me as insensitive

I regard 300,000 human lives as a strikingly significant number no matter the populace of a geographic area. The 9/11 reference was merely a comparison. I agree that there is way too much hunger here and throughout the world.

[kurtyboy]

11. Well, I dunno

The multiplier effect of the casualties has yet to be calculated. For every casualty, there is a family and a few businesses and a tax base to consider. A similar loss in the United States would have a serious effect on GDP--I'm guessing 1/2-2 trillion dollars per annum (as much as 15% reducion in productivity, not to mention the HUGE hit to our bond ratings globally). In these developing areas, there is admittedly less of an effect.

Nonetheless, the cost to Indonesia and Malaysia and Sri Lanka's GDP will be crippling for several years--but with good government and generous foreign aid, the negatives can eventually be turned into some significant socio-economic improvements. But those two conditions are not certain by any measure...

[2Design]

13. yes and if we spent the bomb and protection money on food and

health care - the whole population of earth would be better off - yet the rw cult think they are 'right' - definitely doesn't seem christ like

food and health care would sure be better than bombs and killing by the rw cult

[nyrnyr1994]

10. Sounds like the logic the people over at HOT 97

we're using :shrug:

[KissMeKate]

5. the reason the number of dead keeps going up

people will die from the effects of this disaster for a while.

The tsunami flooded wells, ruined sewer systems, destroyed crops of hand to mouth extreme poor people, and devastated health care infrastructure.

dysentery, cholera, other water and sewage borne diseases will continue to kill people, if starvation doesnt.

The relief agencies cant even get to many areas to bring food and water- the roads are washed out.

I wouldnt be surprised if the death toll reaches a million by six months from now.

[lovuian]

7. I agree Kate We haven't seen the REAL numbers

yet!!!

[NickB79]

14. It will take years for the cropland to recover

It has been polluted by massive salt deposits from all that seawater. It will be years before the rainwater cleanses the soil, and in the meantime many more will starve to death as well.

[Old Mouse]

15. the increase from secondary causes have not been factored in

this increase is still just from the actual event as people are moved from the "missing" column into the "officially dead" column.

There will soon come a time where the numbers become beyond our ability to coneptualize... our coping mechanism will start forcing us to put this out of our minds.

[kineneb]

12. All I can do is express my sympathy

After seeing what the Loma Prieta quake did to the Bay Area, I feel some kinship to the people in the area. I was on city streets when it hit, and Hubby had just driven out of the Cypress Structure (the double-deck freeway that collapsed). There are still big empty spaces in downtown Watsonville and Hollister where badly damaged buildings were removed.

The Indian ocean area may eventually rebuild, but the living will all have missing pieces to their lives.

Plate techtonics tend to put life in perspective rapidly.

[anarchy1999]

16. Surprised? Not at all. I knew this the day it happened.

December 26th and had to spend the morning with absolutely clueless "Christian" in-laws. I'm so sorry to have known it then, I cried most of the day and stayed up all night, I could not sleep.