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April 22, 2005
Tsunami Thoughts
As you are no doubt aware by now, an earthquake shook the sea off Southeast Asia, resulting in a Tsunami system that devastated Sri Lanka, India, Indionesia and elsewhere in the area. The current count is over 63,000 dead. The devastation and loss are amazing.
I've read and heard a lot of news on this story since it happened. I have watched some incredible video of the wave coming in. There have been reports in the blogsphere from on-site. It would be much easier if our communications system was like it was 50 years ago, and we had to wait weeks for a two-minute edited film as a lead-in to the movie of the week at the local cinema. In today's world of communication, we have access to detailed news, updated body counts, and multiple videos hours after the event.
From the underwear model who survived by hanging onto the treetops to the older couple washed away from poolside to the child found floating on a mattress, there are many stories that will come out of this event. Each of those 63,000 people had, and was, a story. In the end, I wouldn't be surprised if the death toll topped 100,000.
Scientists suggest that the continental shelf off of North Carolina could collapse, in the future. Millions of tons of rock could slide from relatively shallow water into the depths of the ocean, because of the porosity of the shelf. Such a collapse could result in a tsunami washing ashore for some distance. The wave could extend beyond the coast of North Carolina and Virginia, causing great damage and death.
Will it happen? Who knows? Tsunamis happen in the area of this last one on the average of every 700 years. Nobody could have expected it to happen when it did.
It doesn't have to be a wave. It could be a car, a chicken bone or a heart attack. It could be tomorrow, or it could be decades from now. The point is, live every day as if it could be your last, and keep in mind where you'll end up when you're gone.
Posted by Lockjaw at April 22, 2005 12:59 PM
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