Brunei's Response to the 2004 Indian Ocean Earthquake and Tsunami Disaster

[Gokul43201]

My folks live about half a mile from the sea in Chennai. Right now, they're away on vacation. Speaking to friends in the neighborhood, they determined that the damage in the area had stopped two houses short of theirs.

My dad's a sailor, and his ship (with him onboard) was anchored offshore in Indonesia when the earthquake struck. He only heard about the quake through news from India. His ship was just about far anough from land that he felt nothing at all.

My mom and sis will be getting back home as soon as they can, to assess the damage and see what they can do. I have several friends and relatives living near the sea in Southern India, but they're all safe.

So many thousands more were not so lucky. And these were mostly the poor fisher-folk living in coastal villages.

I'll dig around to see what are good ways to contribute. Klusener seems to have provided a few options already.

 

[Ivan Seeking]

Huge casualties including 3 Canadians, etc..." and things like that...

Don't worry about the reports. It is natural to have a unique interest in people from home. Probably every emergency agency that I have ever heard of and certainly many more, are all cited as rushing aid of all kinds. One of the biggest problems is targeting the areas of greatest need. I listened to some of the planning by international organizations this morning. The scope of the damage is so great and covers such a huge area that relief workers hardly know where to begin. Nonetheless, I have seen crate after crate of supplies loaded onto airplanes while interviews were played back. Enormous relief efforts are underway everywhere but it will take time.

 

[Evo]

Gokul, I am so glad to hear that your family was spared.

 

[Ivan Seeking]

Gokul, I am so glad to hear that your family was spared.

Absolutely! Your family was very lucky.

I was just listening to the head of the UN's relief agency [I didn't get his name]. On PBS he just said that this may be biggest disaster in human history. Eight countries have been seriously affected. Since the populations tend to reside in coastal areas, the number of people affected by this one event is likely unprecedented.

 

[recon]

I believe Saint lives in Kuala Lumpur, which is quite far away from Penang, where most of the damage caused by the earthquake in Malaysia occured. However, Penang is a very popular tourist destination (even for Malaysians, and Bruneians too), and is especially so at this time of the year because of the month-long school holidays in both Malaysia and Brunei.

 

[omicron]

I would expect you could write the check to your local red cross and specify it is for disaster relief for the tsunami. I have no doubt Red Cross organizations from many countries are mobilizing to help out there. The money will help not just for them to purchase the supplies, but to get them transported to the countries that need them.

I don't know how Saint would be doing, but I don't think Malaysia had very many casualties compared to other countries in the area. It seemed more like Sumatra took the brunt of it on that side of the quake from the maps I've seen with casualty reports.

This is one of those things where there will be plenty of international help.

I don't really know where Saint lives (always thought that he lives in Penang ) but the number of casualties Malaysia has is about the same as the Maldives and Burma. The only reason why I'm safe is because Malaysia is there. And also the fault is on the west coast of Indonesia.

 

[tumor]

Where is Saint by the way? last time he posted anything was like month and a half.
Maybe he is busy fixing his new home?

 

[Ivan Seeking]

recon, klusener, are you still okay?

The death toll is now over 52,000. It appears that some small island populations were wiped clean. This is going to get much worse. There are areas known to have many uncounted dead.

 

[Astronuc]

I have heard a number over 55,000 and climbing. As Ivan said, some islands were overwhelmed, and from what I heard, no-one from the outside has been there yet.

National Public Radio has a list of humanitarian and aid organizations in the US - http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=4248155.

I heard that Catholic Relief Services already has programs in place in India and is re-directing aid the coastal areas affected by tsunamis. CRS has information at http://www.catholicrelief.org/our_work/where_we_work/overseas/asia/tsunami/index.cfm .

I am not endorsing any particular agency - give to the agency of your choice - but investigate first if you are not familiar with the agency.

 

[Evo]

recon, klusener, are you still okay?

The death toll is now over 52,000. It appears that some small island populations were wiped clean. This is going to get much worse. There are areas known to have many uncounted dead.

It's almost 60,000 now, One third are said to be children. There are a couple of islands with over 7,000 residents that have not been heard from since the disaster and fears are all may be lost.

For those that initially escaped harm, there is no telling what can happen from the aftermath, this is far from over as if they haven't already suffered enough. I can't ever remember anything this devastating.

 

[recon]

recon, klusener, are you still okay?

The death toll is now over 52,000. It appears that some small island populations were wiped clean. This is going to get much worse. There are areas known to have many uncounted dead.

We're all OK in Brunei, even though we were as near to the epicentre as Sri Lanka/India was.

Things are moving at a very slow pace in Brunei right now. The only public fund-raising group is the Scout's Association, and we can't make any donations until the 1st of January. It strikes me as pretty odd that people on PF seem to care more than Bruneians. If you look here, you'll see that http://www.brudirect.com/DailyInfo/News/Archive/Dec04/291204/nite01.htm is featured very prominently, while you have to look more carefully to find this http://www.brudirect.com/DailyInfo/News/Archive/Dec04/291204/nite18.htm .

 

[Ivan Seeking]

It's almost 60,000 now, One third are said to be children. There are a couple of islands with over 7,000 residents that have not been heard from since the disaster and fears are all may be lost.

For those that initially escaped harm, there is no telling what can happen from the aftermath, this is far from over as if they haven't already suffered enough. I can't ever remember anything this devastating.

I believe that when the full scope of this is known, to the extent that it can be, if you count the number of dead and severely affected, this is the greatest disaster in history. Eleven countries are now known to be affected.

 

[Ivan Seeking]

We're all OK in Brunei, even though we were as near to the epicentre as Sri Lanka/India was.

Okay, that's great. I can officially remove you from my list of worries.

 

[Evo]

Here is a link that allows you to select an organization that is already there giving aid and provides a way to immediately donate.

http://www.networkforgood.org/topics/international/earthquake/tsunami122604.aspx

 

[recon]

The only problem is that I don't own a credit card yet. :( I wish I could contribute in some way, as I do have quite a lot of time on my hands right now. I can't even start a donation drive in my neighbourhood because doing so would violate Bruneian laws. I have to write a letter to the Ministry seeing permission before I'm allowed to start anything like that, and I would have to wait a VERY, VERY long time before the letter garners a response.

 

[tumor]

I believe that when the full scope of this is known, to the extent that it can be, if you count the number of dead and severely affected, this is the greatest disaster in history. Eleven countries are now known to be affected.

Common Man ! you are going overboard with your estimates.
Floods in China or earthquakes in Japan were much, much more deadly, I don't want to sound silly but because western tourists were killed media focuses more on this disaster.Poor tourists where they going to go now?

 

[Evo]

The only problem is that I don't own a credit card yet. :( I wish I could contribute in some way, as I do have quite a lot of time on my hands right now. I can't even start a donation drive in my neighbourhood because doing so would violate Bruneian laws. I have to write a letter to the Ministry seeing permission before I'm allowed to start anything like that, and I would have to wait a VERY, VERY long time before the letter garners a response.

Wow, you have some really strict laws!

I really am glad that you escaped harm.

 

[Evo]

Common Man ! you are going overboard with your estimates.
Floods in China or earthquakes in Japan were much, much more deadly, I don't want to sound silly but because western tourists were killed media focuses more on this disaster.Poor tourists where they going to go now?

All of the news reports that I've read had little or no coverage on tourists. This most likely will have the largest toll on human life in recorded history (from a natural disaster).

 

[Astronuc]

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=516&ncid=731&e=2&u=/ap/20041229/ap_on_re_as/quake_tidal_wave

AP - Indonesia's Health Ministry said in a statement that thousands more bodies were found Tuesday, raising to more than 27,000 the number of confirmed deaths in parts of Sumatra island, the territory closest to the epicenter of the quake that sent tsunami waves rolling across the Indian Ocean. The count did not include a report of 10,000 more dead in the region around one coastal city.

Sri Lanka listed 21,700 people dead, India 4,400 and Thailand 1,500, with the toll expected to rise. A total of more than 300 were killed in Malaysia, Myanmar, Bangladesh, the Maldives, Somalia, Tanzania, Seychelles and Kenya.

Sumatra alone may account for more than 40,000 dead, and Sri Lanka is already up to 21,700.

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=516&ncid=731&e=10&u=/ap/20041228/ap_on_re_as/quake_celebrities
---------------------------
Most Recent Natural Disasters Were Not the Century's Worst, USGS Says

China has suffered a number of natural disasters that have claimed 100,000's of people.

The planet's deadliest earthquake of the century, by far, was a magnitude 8.0 that struck Tianjin , China, on July 27, 1976. The official casualty figure issued by the Chinese government was 255,000, but unofficial estimates of the death toll were as high as 655,000.

U.S. losses of life are dwarfed by flood losses in other parts of the world. China and Bangladesh have been devastated repeatedly by floods - Bangladesh lost 300,000 people in November 1970 and more than 130,000 in April 1991, from cyclone-induced flooding, and the massive flooding of the Yangtze River in China in 1931 caused more than 3 million deaths from flooding and starvation.

and the Guinness Book of Records has a flood in China in 1887 - an estimated 900,000 people were killed when the Huang He (Yellow River), Huayan Kou, China.

China has had other floods and earthquakes that killed 100,000's.
==================================================

Nevertheless, it is very bad for those now involved in the current disaster and we need to help all we can.

 

[Greg Bernhardt]

The red cross is currently taking donations to help those in need.

 

[tribdog]

We're all OK in Brunei, even though we were as near to the epicentre as Sri Lanka/India was.

Things are moving at a very slow pace in Brunei right now. The only public fund-raising group is the Scout's Association, and we can't make any donations until the 1st of January. It strikes me as pretty odd that people on PF seem to care more than Bruneians. .

It strikes me odd that that strikes you odd. We care about everyone.
I think that headline in the Brunei paper is disgusting. To profit from tragedy is wrong. I'm at a loss for words and that doesn't happen to me very often. If a headline came out in an American newspaper about the benefits of a disaster reducing competition people would be outraged. I would be outraged. I am outraged, doesn't human life mean anything to your country?

 

[Smurf]

No, that's why they maurade around the world killing millions of people for the personal profit of a few old grey guys... Brunei!

 

[Smurf]

Funny, I just realized Brunei is the word in Ewe for "White-Man"

 

[recon]

It strikes me odd that that strikes you odd. We care about everyone.

I know that.

It just makes me sad that the people on PF, most of whom live so far away, care more than the people in Brunei, who reside a mere stone's throw away from the disaster-stricken areas.

 

[Ivan Seeking]

Don't pick on recon. She's our pal.

 

[Tsu]

Not only that, she's our NIECE - AND the niece of The SISTEHOOD!

 

[klusener]

sorry that i didn't post anything for these few days, but I have just been going around the city seeing if my friends are okay.. but it seems as if the death toll is rising every hour..

 

[Evo]

Most Recent Natural Disasters Were Not the Century's Worst, USGS Says

There is no telling how high the death toll from this disaster will be. For example, the death toll from the 1931 Yangtze river flood was over a two month period and the majority of deaths were a result of disease and starvation. There was very little help for the people in that area, otherwise the death toll could have been much lower.

The death toll has just begun as a result of this disaster, it's only been a few days, hopefully with world wide collaboration the amount of deaths as a result of disease and starvation can be kept to a minimum. The days when a natural disaster has a death toll in the millions, I would hope, is a thing of the past.

What is devastating here is the number of people killed within hours.

 

[Astronuc]

With the surge in world population and the trend for many to live, work or recreate at the seashore, I am afraid we will see more events like this weekend.

Also, don't forget, at one time or another, much of the present day land in the world was underwater.

Even near Mt. Everest, one can find fossils of underwater creatures.

Also, I remember reading a book on geology, and in it was a sequence of maps that indicated most of North America had been underwater at some point in history.

I am concerned that we might be entering a more seismically active period.

I hope that steps will be taken to improve detection, warning and communication systems.

Right now, a friend and family are trying to locate missing relative. The phone lines to the mainland (Thailand) are out - so we wait.

 

[Gokul43201]

The US Navy is moving the Abe Lincoln Carrier Group and another expeditionary group into position near Indonesia. Besides the P3C Orions, Seahawks and other aerial search and rescue craft, the fresh-water producing capability aboard these ships will be a huge boon.

 

[klusener]

How long will they stay after they assist in the relief?

 

[Astronuc]

How long will they stay after they assist in the relief?

At this point, given the scope, it is impossible to know. Relief effort will last several months. Various UN agencies will probably be involved all of the upcoming year, and beyond.

 

[tribdog]

No, that's why they maurade around the world killing millions of people for the personal profit of a few old grey guys... Brunei!

who's killing millions of people?

 

[Smurf]

The brunei's are.
(translation: White man (really tribdog, go to the political subforum once in a while))

 

[Ivan Seeking]

How long will they stay after they assist in the relief?

Last night the discussion on PBS was about being there for years, not weeks or days. Of course this applies mainly to the areas hit the hardest, like Sri Lanka.