# Did Arthur C. Clarke survive the tsunami?

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-arthur-c-clarke-survive-the-tsunami/282106>\
**Category:** Cafe Society\
**Created:** [December 29, 2004, 4:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-arthur-c-clarke-survive-the-tsunami/282106 "2004-12-29T16:16:10Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 5\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![Sampiro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/2acd7d/32.png) [@Sampiro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sampiro)\
**Post date:** [December 29, 2004, 4:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-arthur-c-clarke-survive-the-tsunami/282106/1 "2004-12-29T16:16:10Z")

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[All disclaimers to the effect of “I am not minimizing the death of the non-famous and non-white victims of the tsunami” in place]

I have been curious if one of my favorite authors, Arthur C. Clarke, a resident of the beaches of Sri Lanka for 50 years, has survived the tsunami. Has anybody heard or read anything about him in the news?

One of my favorite directors, Lord Richard Attenborough, is in mourning for his 14 year old granddaughter, a tourist killed by the tsunami at Phuket. I have a good friend who was supposed to go to Thailand on Sunday but I am told that her flight was grounded in Europe due to the weather; I certainly hope that’s the case.

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**Author:** ![Papermache\_Prince](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/f05b48/32.png) [@Papermache\_Prince](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Papermache_Prince)\
**Post date:** [December 29, 2004, 4:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-arthur-c-clarke-survive-the-tsunami/282106/2 "2004-12-29T16:17:54Z")

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[Yes](http://www.clarkefoundation.org/)

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**Author:** ![Absolute](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b2d939/32.png) [@Absolute](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Absolute)\
**Post date:** [December 29, 2004, 4:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-arthur-c-clarke-survive-the-tsunami/282106/3 "2004-12-29T16:19:07Z")

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Yes, he’s alive and well.

[http://www.clarkefoundation.org/](http://www.clarkefoundation.org/)

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**Author:** ![Sampiro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/2acd7d/32.png) [@Sampiro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sampiro)\
**Post date:** [December 29, 2004, 4:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-arthur-c-clarke-survive-the-tsunami/282106/4 "2004-12-29T16:19:19Z")

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Thanks. That must have been released the second I was posting here. I’m curious:

> [@](#):
>
> I am enormously relieved that my family and household have escaped the ravages of the sea that suddenly invaded most parts of coastal Sri Lanka, leaving a trail of destruction.

He’s a bachelor and has no children; I wonder who his “family” is?

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**Author:** ![Ponder\_Stibbons](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ponder_stibbons/32/343_2.png) [@Ponder\_Stibbons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ponder_Stibbons)\
**Post date:** [December 29, 2004, 4:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-arthur-c-clarke-survive-the-tsunami/282106/5 "2004-12-29T16:21:24Z")

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Oddly enough, this is not the [first thread](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=293827) on the subject. Of course, the first one misspelled “Clarke” as “Clark”, making it hard to find.