# Many Thousands Reported Dead in Tsunamis in South and Southeast Asia **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [December 26, 2004, 9:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/many-thousands-reported-dead-in-tsunamis-in-south-and-southeast-asia/281668 "2004-12-26T09:09:33Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 6
**Author:** ![altiod](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c6cbf5/32.png) [@altiod](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/altiod)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2004, 5:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/many-thousands-reported-dead-in-tsunamis-in-south-and-southeast-asia/281668/101 "2004-12-28T17:24:16Z")
If you are concerned about an expat you know in Thailand, you can check in at [this board](http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/index.php?showforum=57). Keep in mind it is a much smaller board that is having its bandwidth stretched beyond its limit at the moment. ---
**Author:** ![OxyMoron](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/e9a140/32.png) [@OxyMoron](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OxyMoron)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2004, 6:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/many-thousands-reported-dead-in-tsunamis-in-south-and-southeast-asia/281668/102 "2004-12-28T18:37:20Z")
> [@False\_God](#): > > Here in Sri Lanka, where as Eve’s post above states the majority of the victims were in fact children, I’ve been fielding press calls all day (got interviewed by CNN and VOA) and now we have the problem that Sri Lanka’s tropical and bodies don’t do well in heat. The bodies are being photographed at some morgues, but not all, so we may have to volunteer to go around and photograph the obvious non-Sri Lankans before they get tossed into the mass graves that are rapidly becoming the only solution. 100+ Americans still unaccounted for, and as families start to come forward in the coming weeks, we’d like to have some record. Sad but true fact of life of dealing with a natural disaster. Is there any protocal for preserving tissue samples of bodies that are unclaimed, but which must be buried for health reasons? ---
**Author:** ![ivylass](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/9de053/32.png) [@ivylass](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ivylass)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2004, 6:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/many-thousands-reported-dead-in-tsunamis-in-south-and-southeast-asia/281668/103 "2004-12-28T18:56:49Z")
The supermodel on the 2003 _Sports Illustrated_ swimsuit edition was found clinging to a tree after [eight hours.](http://www.nydailynews.com/news/story/265980p-227820c.html) No sign of her photographer boyfriend. ☹ ---
**Author:** ![Hustle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/df705f/32.png) [@Hustle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hustle)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2004, 7:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/many-thousands-reported-dead-in-tsunamis-in-south-and-southeast-asia/281668/104 "2004-12-28T19:30:01Z")
> [@ivylass](#): > > The supermodel on the 2003 Sports Illustrated swimsuit edition was found clinging to a tree after eight hours. And to accompany the article there’s a photograph of her… hip-deep in water. Classy. ---
**Author:** ![ShibbOleth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/848f3c/32.png) [@ShibbOleth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ShibbOleth)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2004, 9:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/many-thousands-reported-dead-in-tsunamis-in-south-and-southeast-asia/281668/105 "2004-12-28T21:22:06Z")
I just remembered. Near Phangna (which was hard hit) there is a [Muslim fishing village](http://www.abiyoyo.com/tailandia/aophangnga/aophangnga2/aophangnga.htm) at Koh Panyi. There’s some pictures of it at the link I’ve posted, but the thing is basically a bunch of homes and shops built on stilts above the water. I wonder if it’s even still there? ---
**Author:** ![lisacurl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/41988e/32.png) [@lisacurl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lisacurl)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2004, 11:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/many-thousands-reported-dead-in-tsunamis-in-south-and-southeast-asia/281668/106 "2004-12-28T23:02:23Z")
> [@ivylass](#): > > The supermodel on the 2003 _Sports Illustrated_ swimsuit edition was found clinging to a tree after [eight hours.](http://www.nydailynews.com/news/story/265980p-227820c.html) > > No sign of her photographer boyfriend. > > ☹ She had a _broken pelvis_. The amount of force necessary to break a pelvis in a healthy young woman is staggering to me. ---
**Author:** ![Eleusis](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/f4b2a3/32.png) [@Eleusis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eleusis)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2004, 12:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/many-thousands-reported-dead-in-tsunamis-in-south-and-southeast-asia/281668/107 "2004-12-29T00:35:03Z")
Death toll now pushing 60,000 and expected to more than double after epidemics. ☹ ---
**Author:** ![False\_God](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/ee7513/32.png) [@False\_God](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/False_God)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2004, 12:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/many-thousands-reported-dead-in-tsunamis-in-south-and-southeast-asia/281668/108 "2004-12-29T00:38:39Z")
> [@OxyMoron](#): > > Is there any protocal for preserving tissue samples of bodies that are unclaimed, but which must be buried for health reasons? Even if there were, I doubt there’d be sufficient freezer space and facilities to do tissue typing later. Even if the bureaucracy was in place (highly, highly unlikely,There are some areas here, especially in the north, where the only hospital for an entire province has one surgeon and six physicians,) they’d be better off photographing each body before burying it. Mass graves have already begun to be filled. ---
**Author:** ![Fern\_Forest](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/71c47a/32.png) [@Fern\_Forest](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fern_Forest)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2004, 7:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/many-thousands-reported-dead-in-tsunamis-in-south-and-southeast-asia/281668/109 "2004-12-29T07:00:13Z")
> [@ShibbOleth](#): > > Actually, what I meant by my question, will Australia, New Zealand, Hawaii, etc get hit by the ripple effect a little bit later, or has that danger already passed? Still very scary, nothing I ever worried about as a diver. I assume on the surface the thing is just a big swell until the wave gets into shallow enough water to break (IIRC wave amplitude can get to maximu of 1/2 the depth before breaking). Wow, way [bigger](http://www.prh.noaa.gov/pr/ptwc/hmsg) then I expected. > [@](#): > > 50 CM CREST-TO-TROUGH AT CALLAO CHILE > 19 CM CREST-TO-TROUGH AT IQUIQUE CHILE > 13 CM CREST-TO-TROUGH AT PAGO PAGO AMERICAN SAMOA > 11 CM CREST-TO-TROUGH AT SUVA FIJI > 50 CM CREST-TO-TROUGH AT WAITANGI CHATHAM IS NEW ZEALAND > 65 CM CREST-TO-TROUGH AT JACKSON BAY NEW ZEALAND > 18 CM CREST-TO-TROUGH AT PORT VILA VANUATU > 06 CM CREST-TO-TROUGH AT HILO HAWAII USA > 22 CM CREST-TO-TROUGH AT SAN DIEGO CALIFORNIA USA > > HOWEVER… AT MANZANILLO MEXICO SEA LEVEL FLUCTUATIONS WERE > AS MUCH AS 2.6 METERS CREST-TO-TROUGH PROBABLY DUE TO FOCUSING > OF ENERGY BY THE EAST PACIFIC RISE AS WELL AS LOCAL RESONANCES. 2.6 meters in Mexico!!! Damn. ---
**Author:** ![Waenara](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/50afbb/32.png) [@Waenara](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Waenara)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2004, 7:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/many-thousands-reported-dead-in-tsunamis-in-south-and-southeast-asia/281668/110 "2004-12-29T07:19:33Z")
The toll is now up to at least [68,000](http://www.reuters.co.uk/newsArticle.jhtml?type=topNews&storyID=645814). Apparently there’s been [about 50 aftershocks](http://neic.usgs.gov/neis/bulletin/bulletin.html) (as of now), with one as high as 7.5 on the Richter scale. However, they say that these aftershocks [won’t pose](http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=10000087&sid=aZAzK55P.3Q0&refer=top_world_news) a further tsunami risk. ---
**Author:** ![Waenara](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/50afbb/32.png) [@Waenara](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Waenara)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2004, 7:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/many-thousands-reported-dead-in-tsunamis-in-south-and-southeast-asia/281668/111 "2004-12-29T07:23:00Z")
whoops… hit “Submit” too soon. It looks like the aftershocks likely won’t cause more tsunamis, but they will still be powerful enough to hamper relief effort a great deal. From the last link I gave: > [@](#): > > Aftershocks have all been smaller than 6.5 magnitude, except for one that reached 7.5, Sipkin said. Such quakes do have the potential to hamper rescue efforts because they may be powerful enough to destroy buildings and roads damaged by the initial earthquake in areas of Indonesia and India’s Nicobar and Andaman Islands, which are close to the epicenter, Sipkin said. > > `If a building is weakened from the main shock, the aftershocks can be big enough to bring it down,'' he said. `The magnitudes will continue to decrease over time. Every so often there will be a large one that pops up, but in general they will be decreasing.’’ > > Still, another U.S. government tsunami expert said southern Asia may experience earthquakes with magnitudes as high as 8 over the next few weeks. > > `The worst is probably over,'' said Vasily Titov, a tsunami research scientist at the U.S. Government's National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration. Aftershocks will continue for `weeks rather than days, because it’s such a major event. There is potential for an earthquake with a magnitude of 8 or so as an aftershock,’’ he said yesterday in a telephone interview from the Seattle-based Pacific Marine Environmental Laboratory. ---
**Author:** ![ShibbOleth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/848f3c/32.png) [@ShibbOleth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ShibbOleth)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2004, 11:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/many-thousands-reported-dead-in-tsunamis-in-south-and-southeast-asia/281668/112 "2004-12-29T11:54:15Z")
> [@False\_God](#): > > Even if there were, I doubt there’d be sufficient freezer space and facilities to do tissue typing later. Even if the bureaucracy was in place (highly, highly unlikely,There are some areas here, especially in the north, where the only hospital for an entire province has one surgeon and six physicians,) they’d be better off photographing each body before burying it. > > Mass graves have already begun to be filled. Just read a blurb about how one woman working at a temple\* in Khao Lak is taking swabs of victims mouths and hair samples. Her hope is that they can do DNA matches later. She thinks this is _not_ being done at the other two temples in the area. \*Buddhist temples are where the dead are taken, traditionally in Thailand, to await cremation. ---
**Author:** ![DemonSpawn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ac8455/32.png) [@DemonSpawn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DemonSpawn)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2004, 12:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/many-thousands-reported-dead-in-tsunamis-in-south-and-southeast-asia/281668/113 "2004-12-29T12:21:17Z")
A co-worker of mine was in Phuket with her boyfriend (also a co-worker). We were very worried when we heard about the Tsunami. They called us on Monday to say they were OK. They were in the water when the Tsunami happened. Both survived, only slightly injured. Their hotel room was destroyed, all possessions, papers, clothes are gone. But they are alive, thank Og! I hope they will return safely … ---
**Author:** ![Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bosda_di_chi_of_tricor/32/16845_2.png) [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosda_Di_Chi_of_Tricor)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2004, 2:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/many-thousands-reported-dead-in-tsunamis-in-south-and-southeast-asia/281668/114 "2004-12-29T14:52:57Z")
Death toll tops 71,000. [http://www.cnn.com/2004/WORLD/asiapcf/12/29/asia.quake/index.html](http://www.cnn.com/2004/WORLD/asiapcf/12/29/asia.quake/index.html) Still climbing. ---
**Author:** ![ivylass](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/9de053/32.png) [@ivylass](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ivylass)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2004, 3:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/many-thousands-reported-dead-in-tsunamis-in-south-and-southeast-asia/281668/115 "2004-12-29T15:46:05Z")
Drudge is now saying it’s over [100,000!](http://www.thisislondon.com/news/articles/15630695?source=Evening%20Standard&ct=5) Another thing…hardly any [dead animals](http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=516&u=/ap/20041229/ap_on_re_as/quake_sri_lanka_animals_1&printer=1). Hmmmm. ---
**Author:** ![ShibbOleth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/848f3c/32.png) [@ShibbOleth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ShibbOleth)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2004, 2:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/many-thousands-reported-dead-in-tsunamis-in-south-and-southeast-asia/281668/116 "2004-12-30T14:49:36Z")
[CNN places the current death toll above 116,000](http://www.cnn.com/2004/WORLD/asiapcf/12/30/asia.quake/index.html), with 80,000 of those being in Indonesia alone. > [@](#): > > U.N. relief workers arrived in Indonesia’s Aceh province to find devastation in the region closest to the epicenter of the earthquake that spawned the killer tsunamis. > > Emergency workers reported that in some parts of Aceh, as many as one in every four citizens was dead. I don’t know how they arrive at these, by body count or estimate. But I’m still holding out hope that many of the missing are just cut off from communications and that some of these numbers will get revised down in time, similar to what happened after the initial estimates with 9/11. ---
**Author:** ![Astroboy14](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/df705f/32.png) [@Astroboy14](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Astroboy14)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2004, 3:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/many-thousands-reported-dead-in-tsunamis-in-south-and-southeast-asia/281668/117 "2004-12-30T15:00:33Z")
> [@ShibbOleth](#): > > But I’m still holding out hope that many of the missing are just cut off from communications and that some of these numbers will get revised down in time, similar to what happened after the initial estimates with 9/11. I hope you’re right on this… it just keeps getting worse! ---
**Author:** ![ivylass](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/9de053/32.png) [@ivylass](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ivylass)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2004, 3:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/many-thousands-reported-dead-in-tsunamis-in-south-and-southeast-asia/281668/118 "2004-12-30T15:10:15Z")
Weren’t the initial estimates on Sept 11 something like 10,000? That was based, in part, on how many people worked at the WTC. They didn’t realize until later that 99% of the people who could get out, did get out. I know they’re digging deep trenches to bury the bodies. Are there any sort of counts being kept, or are they just digging the holes and covering them up? We may never know how many. ---
**Author:** ![Eve](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Eve](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eve)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2004, 4:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/many-thousands-reported-dead-in-tsunamis-in-south-and-southeast-asia/281668/119 "2004-12-30T16:06:51Z")
> [@ivylass](#): > > We may never know how many. We’ll never know how many. Whole familes and neighborhoods were wiped out, and I doubt a lot of the communities kept census records. They’re still arguing about how many died in the Galveston hurricane and the San Francisco earthquake/fire. Something on this scale, they’ll just have to guess. ---
**Author:** ![Colophon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f05b48/32.png) [@Colophon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colophon)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2004, 7:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/many-thousands-reported-dead-in-tsunamis-in-south-and-southeast-asia/281668/120 "2004-12-30T19:05:05Z")
> [@ivylass](#): > > Weren’t the initial estimates on Sept 11 something like 10,000? I certainly saw figures like 30,000 being bandied about, early on. With the tsunamis, though, I’m pretty certain that these figures will be _underestimates_, simply because many of the bodies will never be found, and nobody who would miss them survived either ☹ It’s not like the WTC, where the destruction, although horrific, was very localised and so whole families/communities were not likely to be wiped out. This is on a different scale altogether. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/many-thousands-reported-dead-in-tsunamis-in-south-and-southeast-asia/281668.md?page=5) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/many-thousands-reported-dead-in-tsunamis-in-south-and-southeast-asia/281668.md?page=7)