Ramblings' Journal

Asian death toll approaches 25,000

A sequence of photos from an amateur video (shown initially on Australia's Seven News), shows the sheer devestation of the tsunamis as they come ashore in the seaside resort city of Phuket, Thailand.

   

Late Monday, Indonesia's vice president, Yusuf Kalla, was quoted as believing the death toll in his country alone could top 25,000, which would push the overall toll in this tragedy to beyond 42,000 deaths.

Sunday's massive quake of 9.0 magnitude off the Indonesian island of Sumatra sent 500-mph waves surging across the Indian Ocean and Bay of Bengal in the deadliest known tsunami since the one that devastated the Portuguese capital of Lisbon in 1755 and killed an estimated 60,000 people.

American citizens concerned about loved ones in the region are urged to call (888) 407-4747 or to go to the State Department's Crisis Awareness and Preparedness page for more official information.

Posted by mhking at December 27, 2004 09:37 PM