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Death toll from Asian quake, tsunami passes 16,000

JAKARTA : The death toll from an earthquake off Indonesia and tsunami that it unleashed reached 16,147 Monday as officials reported deaths in eight countries in southern and southeastern Asia.

At least 5,880 people, including 70 foreigners, were killed and many more were reported missing in Sri Lanka, the military and Tamil rebels said.

At least 5,279 people were killed in southern India, officials said.

The dead included 2,780 dead in the southern Indian state of Tamil Nadu and some 2,000 in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, close to the epicentre of the quake, according to police and officials quoted by the Press Trust of India.

In Indonesia, at least 4,448 people were killed as the country took the full force of the huge earthquake and tsunami that swallowed entire coastal villages.

At least 461 people were killed and more than 3,800 injured in southern Thailand, including foreign tourists at famous seaside resorts, officials said.

In Malaysia, 44 people, including many elderly and children, were killed, officials said.

A British tourist and 31 other people died in the low-lying Maldives, officials said.

In Bangladesh a father and child were killed after a tourist boat capsized from large waves, local officials said.

A 12-year-old girl was killed and at least two people were missing in Myanmar, officials said. Ten schooners were also reported missing but the military-ruled state made no further mention of casualty figures.

The US Geological Survey said the earthquake registered west of the Indonesian island of Sumatra measured 9.0 on the Richter scale.

»www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/···/1/.html

Tidal waves warning

PENANG: Penang Meteorological Services Department has warned of possible series of smaller aftershocks that can trigger another tidal waves.

The department issued a warning for all marine and coastal activities to be minimised until 12.30pm on Wednesday.

It said the intensity of the aftershocks would be smaller compared with Sunday’s but could be destructive depending on the height of the waves and the location.

It also said new earthquakes could not be predicted.

»thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?fi···c=latest

SMS not from Astro

PENANG: Astro said an SMS message warning road users not to use the Penang Bridge did not originate from Astro news.

In a statement, it said the SMS message had read: “Do not go to seaside or cross the Penang bridge between 7pm to 8pm. EARTHQUAKE may happen again... fr ASTRO News Pls. inform others” was untrue.

»thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?fi···c=latest

said by iZuDeeN:

why do I see the richter scale increasing?? from 6 to 8.4 and now 9 richter scale?

Tsunami death toll rises to 23,500

The death toll from the southern Asia earthquake rose dramatically today, with some reports estimating that 23,500 people had died in the resulting tidal waves.

As a huge aid mission swung into action, rescue workers are still assessing the aftermath of the world's worst earthquake in 40 years. Experts warned that another quake might strike at any time.

Officials in Sri Lanka announced that the death toll in that country, which was the worst hit, had increased by 5,000 to 12,000, including 200 foreigners.

There have been fatalities in eight countries, including as far away as Somalia on Africa's eastern coast. But the worst hit areas are Sri Lanka, Indonesia and India, with each country reporting thousands dead.

In Thailand, where many British tourists were holidaying, officials said more than 2,000 people have been killed by the tsunami. In total, eleven Britons are confirmed dead - eight in Thailand, one in Sri Lanka and two in the Maldives. Some 10,000 British tourists are thought to be in the region.

Tectonic plates shifted six miles under the sea off the west coast of the Indonesian island of Sumatra, triggering a huge tsunami tidal wave which crashed on to beaches, leaving devastation behind it.

The 20-foot-high waves swept away ferries and fishermen, cars and cottages, sunbathers and holiday divers. Dramatic footage filmed by a tourist on a balcony showed waves crashing into a hotel, flooding over a swimming pool and the lower floors.

Millions of people have been left homeless and many thousands are missing following the quake, which registered 8.9 on the Richter scale. The US Geological Survey said were at least six powerful aftershocks.

Signs of carnage in the disaster area were everywhere today. Dozens of bodies still clad in swimming trunks lined beaches in Thailand.

Villagers in Indonesia picked through destroyed homes amid the smell of rotting corpses, lacking any dry ground to bury the dead. Helicopters in India rushed medicine to stricken areas, while warships in Thailand steamed to island resorts to rescue survivors.

About 200 people were evacuated from devastated Phi Phi island, one of Thailand's most popular destinations for Westerners. Jimmy Gorman, 30, from Manchester, said he saw 15 bodies on the island, including up to five children and a pregnant woman. "Disaster. Flattened everything," Mr Gorman said. "There's nothing left of it." Foreign Office staff said embassy officials throughout south-east Asia were on hand to offer assistance and an emergency telephone number has been set up on 0207 008 0000.

The foreign secretary, Jack Straw, said everything was being done to give assistance but efforts were being disrupted by communications problems. mr Straw told BBC Radio 4's Today programme: "We have had a number of deaths of British nationals reported to our embassies and high commissions but they have not yet been confirmed. The numbers will be higher.

"As well as that there are obviously quite a number injured. In Phuket there are 69 British people who have been counted as injured by David Fall, our ambassador in Thailand, and his staff - they have been literally going round the hospitals.

A huge international emergency aid effort was underway, with the EU having pledged an initial £2.1m. Pope John Paul II led appeals for aid for victims and the US president, George Bush, expressed his condolences over the "terrible loss of life and suffering".

As well as the EU, the US, Japan, China and Russia were among the countries sending aid and teams of experts to the region.

Jasmine Whitbread, international director of the aid group Oxfam, warned that without swift action, more people could die. "The flood waters will have contaminated drinking water and food will be scarce," she said. The International Red Cross - which already has staff in all the affected countries - was concerned about the possible spread of waterborne diseases in the disaster area.

Emergency plans have been launched by UK tour operators to bring visitors home and transfer those in the affected areas to safer havens. British tourists arriving back at UK airports today spoke of their ordeal, with some describing how their hotels were flooded. One told Sky News: "Lots of other people were not so lucky."

Meanwhile, scientists said the death toll would have been reduced if the Indian Ocean had a network warning system for earthquakes similar to the one along Pacific Rim nations in North America, Asia and South America.

»www.guardian.co.uk/naturaldisast···,00.html

Government proposes tsunami early warning system

BUTTERWORTH: The Government has proposed to establish a tsunami early warning system, in the country to alert the public about any possible tsunami should an earthquake occur in the region, Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak said Monday.

He said the system was necessary to avoid tragedies and the loss of lives, like what the country experienced on Sunday.

"We will get all the appropriate sources to help us in establishing the early warning system," he said, adding that experts from Japan would be invited for this purpose because that country had a comprehensive tsunami early warning system.

He told reporters at the Royal Malaysian Air Force base in Butterworth Monday that the country has been put on the alert for a possible second wave of tsunami because the epicentre of the earthquake near Sumatra had yet to stabilise.

He said aftershocks with a reading of 5 on the Richter Scale could still be felt around the earthquake area and he advised the public to avoid coastal areas.

Najib, accompanied by Housing and Local Government Minister Datuk Seri Ong Ka Ting, Second Finance Minister Tan Sri Nor Mohamed Yakcop and Inspector-General of Police Tan Sri Bakri Omar, visited several areas affected by tidal waves in Penang and Kedah.

Responding to a question Najib said the Meteorological Service Department Seismology division could only obtain information on shocks but it did not have the facility to predict tidal waves.

He also advised the public not to listen to rumours including that the Penang Bridge would be closed to traffic because it was not safe for use.

"I have checked with Works Minister Datuk Seri S. Samy Vellu about the bridge and all other major infrastructures, and he confirmed that these structures were not affected at all.

"The Public Works Department had checked the Penang Bridge after the tremors and the department is satisfied with its condition."

Najib also said that the Government would give RM1,000 each to those families that had lost their loved ones and another RM200 each to those who sustained injuries.

Families who had to evacuate would get RM200 each and the aid would be paid out immediately.

He said the government recorded 51 deaths throughout the country, 218 injuries while nine people were still missing.

Penang recorded the highest number of death with 36 cases, Kedah (10), Perak (4) and Selangor (1).

Eight evacuation centres, have also been activated with two in Kedah and six in Penang, have been activated.

Elaborating on the tsunami alert system, Meteorological Services seismology division director Low Kong Chiew said that Malaysia planned to work with other Asian countries on a regional basis.

The countries in the proposed network were likely to include Singapore, Brunei, Thailand and Sri Lanka, he saidin an interview.

Low said that for this alert system to work, certain instruments must be placed in the oceans to detect any possible aftershock or tsunami.

"Without such gadgets or sensors, we can’t detect possible waves or future incidents," he added.

»thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?fi···c=latest