Banda Aceh Tsunami Photos 1

Banda Aceh Before and After



Banda Aceh 01



Banda Aceh 02



Banda Aceh 03



Banda Aceh 04



Banda Aceh 05



Banda Aceh 06



Banda Aceh 07



Banda Aceh 08



Banda Aceh 09



Banda Aceh 10

Ko Phi Phi Tsunami Photos 1

Ko Phi Phi 01



Ko Phi Phi 02



Ko Phi Phi 03



Ko Phi Phi 04



Ko Phi Phi 05



Ko Phi Phi 06



Ko Phi Phi 07



Ko Phi Phi 08



Ko Phi Phi 09



Ko Phi Phi 10

The Hell of Khao Lak

A Khao Lak Resort Destroyed



Another Khao Lak Resort Destroyed



Khao Lak Before (right) After (left)

Khao Lak may never look the same
The Nation
Dec 31, 2004

Unlike the tsunami-devastated areas in Phuket and Krabi, the chances of resurrecting Khao Lak in Phang Nga from the devastation are extraordinarily slim. If it is repaired it could take at least five years, and even then it may not resemble its former self.

Barely known by tourists three years ago, the high-end destination was completely levelled. The 10,000 luxury hotel rooms along the 20-kilometre strip of beach were worth up to Bt20 billion. All of them were either completely or almost totally destroyed by the powerful tsunami. Mark Heather, general manager of La Flora Khao Lak Hotel and Resort, watched his elegant property destroyed a day after its grand opening on December 25. He said he did not know how long it would take to rebuild the hotel because the hotel structure is badly damaged.

“Constructing a new hotel will be easier than rebuilding the damaged hotel,” he said. Television host Thanatorn Palakawong had proudly opened his five bungalows on Khao Lak only a few days before the killer waves struck on December 26. He had reason to be proud, for he was only one of a few entrepreneurs who were able to buy a piece of high-priced land for his bungalows.

The prospects for his business seemed bright as Khao Lak had become a luxury destination for well-heeled travellers. “They are all gone,” he said sadly during a Channel 3 interview. “Still, I’m fine. Others are battered even worse.” One Khao Lak hotel owner said the physical damage on the beach was so severe that it would be almost impossible to rebuild the area to its original form.

Khao Lak National Park in Phang Nga started off blissfully three years ago and was fast becoming another world-class destination, following in the footsteps of Phuket and Krabi. Investors include well-known politician Suchart Tancharoen, who owns the Meridien Khao Lak, and Turk Atmacan Zienel and Italian Giorgio Gonpf, who own the Similan Beach and Spa Resort. During the last three years of the area’s investment boom, the number of hotel rooms increased to 10,000 this year from 2,500 in 2002.

Khao Lak’s land prices doubled last year.

But now property prices may drop by half as the area faces a long period of recovery, one hotel owner said. The 20-kilometre-long Khao Lak beach suffered the worst damage in Thailand from the tsunami. Meanwhile, businessmen in Phuket, particularly those with businesses on Patong Beach, will also face a long recovery.

Panu Maswongsa, marketing manager of the Patong Beach Resort, which was also damaged, said he has to spend up to Bt40 million to rebuild his 325-room hotel. He said he could only hope to be in business 12 months from now. “But we cannot know if business will come back or not. That depends on the tourists’ confidence,” Panu said.

Pamuke Achariyachai, president of the Kata Group, said his business had suffered less of an adverse impact from the tsunami disaster and believed that reconstruction would be completed within six months. Yaya Kasikul, managing director of Lanta Emerald Bungalow, located on Lanta island in Krabi province, said his business was looking at a long recovery period. His bungalows were severely damaged.

The Nation on the Future of Khao Lak

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4,000 missing from Khao Lak alone
The Bangkok Post
Dec 31, 2004

Phangnga _ The tsunami death toll here is likely to rise further as at least 4,000 hotel guests and staff at Khao Lak are believed to be among the dead and missing, said Natural Resources and Environment Minister Suvit Khunkitti. As of 3pm yesterday, the death toll in the six southern provinces hit by the tidal waves on Sunday reached 1,976. This total included 1,208 deaths in Phangnga where 5,573 others were injured and another 1,598 still missing, according to the Disaster Prevention and Mitigation Department.

Mr Suvit said the toll in Phangnga was expected to increase since at least 4,000 of about 20,000 guests and 10,000 staff at tsunami-struck hotels and resorts at Khao Lak were believed to be among the dead and missing. Restoration was expected to take about six months for slightly damaged hotels and one year for badly damaged ones, bearing in mind that Khao Lak beach is 25km long and covers about 100 square kilometres in Takua Pa district, he said.

Public Health Minister Sudarat Keyuraphan said an empty 15-rai land plot on Phetkasem highway opposite Takua Pa district bus terminal was chosen for placement of 20 cold storage containers capable of keeping between 100-150 corpses each. The bodies of tsunami victims already collected would be stored there following autopsies.

CP Capital Company's Takua Pa branch, opposite Wat Nikornwararam, or Wat Yarn Yao, would be turned into a one-stop service centre to handle inquiries and issue temporary travel papers to foreign tourists, she said. About 400 more bodies, already decomposed, arrived at Wat Yarn Yao yesterday afternoon. They were photographed for posting on bulletin boards for those searching for their relatives and friends to check.

Thamniam Bamrung, assistant district chief for Phangnga's administrative office, said the corpses of foreign tourists already collected were being kept in cold storage containers at Wat Yarn Yao near Takua Pa market, Wat Bang Muang near Ban Nam Khem and Wat Lam Kaen near Phangnga naval base. However, the province had to cremate bodies of Thai victims already in advanced state of decomposition.

Those seeking information about the cremated bodies should contact Bang Niang sorting centre in Takua Pa district.

Yesterday, heavy machines scoured the ruins of hotels and resorts along Khao Lak beach where many more dead bodies were believed to be trapped underneath. Poor communication systems and shortages of steel-cutting tools delayed the work of search and recovery teams. Public health permanent secretary Wichai Thianthavorn said foreign tourists and Thais seeking refuge on mountains in Khao Lak risked catching malaria and would be given mosquito nets and repellents.

The Bangkok Post on Khao Lak Deaths

Tsunami Update 1

Funeral Pire in Thailand

The New York Times has just updated their list of charities accepting donations for the victims of the tsunami in Asia:

New York Times Updated List of Tsunami Charities

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30 minutes of terror caught live on home video
Sify News
Wednesday, 29 December , 2004

Jakarta: The sun shone and birds sang in the Indonesian city of Banda Aceh moments before a giant earthquake struck. Ten minutes later, a one-storey high torrent of seawater carried away pulverised homes. In a horrifying home video shot by one family trapped in the direct path of Sunday's disaster, the 30 minutes that led to the destruction of an entire coastline were captured as the camera kept rolling throughout their ordeal.

The family of Sayed Husainy, a government spokesman in Aceh province on Sumatra island, the land mass closest the epicentre of the magnitude 9.0 earthquake, had been video-graphing each other for a family celebration. Their smiles turned to confusion as the garden and houses around them began shaking uncontrollably - then came the water.

The family retreated into their lavish home as the first waves came racing in shore. Within seconds they dashed to the first storey to avoid the rapids that smashed through doors and windows and rose treacherously behind them. From the balcony, their camera captured the smashed remains of other fragile houses borne by the foaming ocean, while only the red-tiled roofs of low-rise building poked above the water line.

In the background, women from Husainy's family who were earlier pictured in traditional Islamic headscarves can be heard weeping and praying over and over again for God's mercy. More than 32,000 people were killed by the tidal wave and quake in Indonesia, almost half of that total lived in Banda Aceh.

Inside Husainy's house, the only loss was expensive furniture, which was smashed to pieces in the swirling water as a glittering chandelier swayed overhead. Up to 10 minutes after the first tsunami, the camera showed huge tidal waves continuing to crash into the palm trees that once marked the shoreline. As the video reaches its end, almost half an hour after the chaos began, the sun still shone in the blue sky.

Report on Video from Banda Aceh

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Over a Dozen Videos of Tsunamis in Asia

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Going Home, More Tsunami Stories
Evelyn Rodriguez
29 Dec, 2004

As I wander the streets of Bangkok (again, I have to trek to get a temp passport and arrange flights back home), people stare at me. Even an able-bodied farung (Thai for foreigner and I found out at breakfast also the word for guava fruit) takes their lives into their own hands as a pedestrian. So to see someone in crutches (btw, my leg is badly cut up at the knee, not broken and was properly stitched at Phuket's international hospital "mass casualty zone") must be rare. Some people ask what happened? Others seem to intuitively guess.

One or two words usually suffice. "Ko Phi Phi" or "tsunami" usually does it.

I will be headed home Thursday, Dec 30th thanks to the great service of the American Express office for State Department workers at the U.S. Embassy - they even sent a courier to deliver the tickets to my hotel as it was obvious I'd not want to wait for two hours.

I continue to hear more personal accounts.

On the way to Phuket airport on the back of a pickup yesterday, an Aussie was relating his tale. He was staying at a high-rise in Patong Beach, Phuket when he felt the bed and walls shaking at approximately 8:15 a.m. His wife nudged him him to stop the clowning around. He says, "It's not me." He looked down at the hotel pool below and verified he just had experienced an earthquake.

But he didn't put two plus two together later that morning. He went out to get some postcards just as the tsunami was heading ashore. He grabbed onto a metal bench (he showed us the scratched up arms where he held on tight) and rode the wave - literally.

He was separated from his wife for two days. He calls up his sons again and they tell him, "Mum was on the tele." The Perth newstation had done a story on his wife looking for her missing husband. She had escaped to the hills in those last two days.

When we arrived at the airport I finally met his wife as she had been in the front seat of the pickup. She was a sweetheart in asking if there was anything we needed (they were able to go back a few days after the tidal wave to retrieve their luggage). And I finally had a new pair of underwear as the bathing suit was getting a little tired.

For every story of reunification there seems to be those with not so happy endings.

Blogger Evelyn Rodriguez Reports on her Tsunami Survival

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Scenes from a disaster
The Guardian
Dec 30, 2004

In the days since the Asian earthquake and tsunami, many of those affected have turned to the internet to share their very personal stories of survival, helplessness and loss. Here is a selection of accounts from the worst-hit areas

The Guardian with Personal Reports on Tsunamis in Asia

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Tsunami's Historic Devastation
Video Shows Tsunami Hitting Beach
NBC10

POSTED: 2:24 pm EST December 27, 2004
UPDATED: 4:23 pm EST December 30, 2004

NBC Report on Videos and Images of the Asian Tsunami Disaster

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The Command Post
December 30, 2004
Earthquake: How to Help [Updated 12/30]

Please, please check the comments for many more worthwhile charities, organizations and relief drives. I'm having a hard time keeping up with the emails and comments, so scroll through until I have enough time to add them all to this list.

Also, there are people asking about going over to the area to help out - I have no idea where to direct them. If anyone knows who to contact if you want to go there, please leave a note in the comments. If you know of any relief efforts - especially localized efforts like clothing drives, please email or leave a note in the comments.

Please check this blog (Tsunami Help) frequently for important phone numbers if you or someone you know are trying to find friend or relatives who are missing in the area. Read below for an extensive, frequently updated list of ways to help the victims. Be sure to check the comments as well, as people are leaving various links and phone numbers there. Please scroll down to the bottom, as the list is frequently being added to.

By the way, the Amazon relief page has already raised more than a million dollars.

The Command Post with Tsunami Charity Lists

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Google List of Tsunami Charities

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Yahoo News Photos of Tsunami Disaster

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Indonesia Needs Help, Death Toll Expected To Exceed 400,000
Bernama News
Dec 30, 2004

The death toll in Acheh, the region worst hit by last Sunday's tsunami, may exceed 400,000 as many affected areas could still not be reached for search and rescue operations, Indonesia's Ambassador to Malaysia Drs H. Rusdihardjo said Thursday.

He said the estimate was based on air surveillance by Indonesian authorities who found no signs of life in places like Meulaboh, Pulau Simeulue and Tapak Tuan while several islands off the west coast of Sumatera had "disappeared".

He said the latest death toll of more than 40,000 in Acheh and northern Sumatera did not take into account the figures from the other areas, especially in the west of the region.

"Aerial surveillance found the town of Meulaboh completely destroyed with only one buiding standing. The building, which belonged to the military, happens to be on a hill," he told reporters after receiving RM1 million in aid for Indonesia's Tsunami Disaster Relief Fund here Thursday.

Rusdihardjo said there were about 150,000 residents in Meulaboh, which was located 150km from the epicentre of the earthquake while Pulau Simeuleu had a population of 76,000.

400,000 Dead in Indonesia?

Tsunami Quake Charities 2

Thai Man Prays for his Missing Sister

The following list of charities helping out with the Asian tsunami disaster is from The New York Times:

December 27, 2004
Agencies Planning Aid to Asia Victims
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

The following aid agencies are accepting contributions for assistance that they or their affiliates are providing for those affected by the earthquake and tidal waves in Asia. U.S. organizations are members of InterAction, a coalition of relief, development and refugee assistance agencies.

Action Against Hunger
247 West 37th St.
New York, NY 10018
212-967-7800
www.actionagainsthunger.org

ADRA International
Asia Quake Fund
12501 Old Columbia Pike
Silver Spring, MD 20904
800-424-ADRA (2372)
www.adra.org

Air Serv International
6583 Merchant Place, Suite 100
Warrenton, VA 20187
www.airserv.org

American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee, Inc.
DC-South Asia Tsunami Relief
P.O. Box 321
847A Second Ave.
New York, New York 10017
212-885-0832
www.jdc.org

American Jewish World Service
45 W. 36th St., 10th Fl.
New York, NY 10018
212-736-2597
www.ajws.org

AmeriCares
88 Hamilton Ave.
Stamford, CT 06902
800-486-4357
www.americares.org

Baptist World Aid
Asia Tidal Waves
405 North Washington St.
Falls Church, VA 22046
703 790 8980
www.bwanet.org/bwaid

B'nai B'rith International
B'nai B'rith Disaster Relief Fund
2020 K. St. NW
7th Floor
Washington, DC 20006
212-490-3290
www.bnaibrith.org

Brother's Brother Foundation
1200 Galveston Ave.
Pittsburgh, PA 15233
412-321-3160
www.brothersbrother.org

CARE
151 Ellis St. NE
Atlanta, GA 30303
800-521-CARE
www.care.org

Catholic Relief Services
209 West Fayette St.
Baltimore, MD 21201
800-HELP-CRS
www.catholicrelief.org

Christian Children's Fund
Child Alert Fund
PO Box 26484
Richmond, Virginia - 23261-6484
800-776-6767
www.ChristianChildrensFund.org

Christian Reformed World Relief Committee (CRWRC)
South Asia Earthquake
2850 Kalamazoo Ave. SE
Grand Rapids, MI, 49560
800-55-CRWRC
www.crwrc.org

Church World Service
PO Box 968
Elkhart, IN 46515
800-297-1516
www.churchworldservice.org

Direct Relief International
27 South La Patera Lane
Santa Barbara, CA 93117
805-964-4767
www.directrelief.org

Food for the Hungry, Inc.
Food for the Hungry
Asia Quake Relief
1224 E. Washington St.
Phoenix, AZ 85034
800-2-HUNGERS
www.fh.org

International Aid
17011 W. Hickory
Spring Lake, MI 49456
800-968-7490
www.internationalaid.org

International Medical Corps
Tsunami Emergency Response
1919 Santa Monica Blvd., Suite 300
Santa Monica, CA 90404-1950
800-481-4462
www.imcworldwide.org

International Relief Teams
Asia Earthquake/Floods
3547 Camino Del Rio South, Suite C
San Diego, CA 92108
619-284-7979
www.IRTeams.org

International Rescue Committee
PO Box 5058
Hagerstown, MD 21741-9874
877-REFUGEE or 733-8433
www.theIRC.org

Latter-Day Saint Charities
Welfare Services Emergency Response
50 East North Temple Street, Room 701
Salt Lake City, Utah, 84150-6800
801-240-3544
ldscharities@ldschurch.org

Lutheran World Relief
South Asia Tsunami
700 Light St.
Baltimore, MD 21230
410-230-2700
www.lwr.org

MAP International
P.O. Box 215000
Brunswick, GA 31521
800-225-8550
www.map.org

Mercy Corps
Southeast Asia Earthquake
Dept. W
PO Box 2669
Portland, OR 97208-2669
800-852-2100
www.mercycorps.org

Operation USA
8320 Melrose Ave. 200
Los Angeles, CA 90069
800-678-8876
www.opusa.org

Oxfam America
Asian Earthquake Fund
PO Box 1211
Albert Lea, MN 56007-1211
800-77-OXFAM
www.oxfamamerica.org

Plan USA
Asia Disaster
155 Plan Way
Warwick, RI 02886
800-556-7918
www.planusa.org

Project Concern International
Asia Tsunamis Press List
5151 Murphy Canyon Road Suite 320
San Diego, CA 92123
858-279-9690
www.projectconcern.org

Project HOPE
Asia Tsunami Response
255 Carter Hall Lane
Millwood, VA 22646
800-544-4673
www.projecthope.org

SAWSO (Salvation Army World Service Office)
South Asia Relief Fund
615 Slaters Lane
Alexandria, VA, 22313
800-SALV-ARMY

Save the Children USA
54 Wilton Road
Westport, CT 06880
1-800-728-3843
www.savethechildren.org

Stop Hunger Now
SE Asia crisis
2501 Clark Ave, Suite 200
Raleigh, NC 27607
888-501-8440
www.stophungernow.org

US Fund for UNICEF
General Emergency Fund
333 E. 38th St.
New York, NY 10016
800-4-UNICEF
www.unicefusa.org

World Concern
Asia Earthquake and Tsunami
19303 Fremont Avenue North
Seattle, WA 98133
800-755-5022
www.worldconcern.org

World Emergency Relief
2270-D Camino Vida Roble
Carlsbad, CA 92009
760-930-8001
www.worldemergencyrelief.org

World Vision
P.O. Box 70288
Tacoma, WA 98481-0288
800-56-CHILD
www.worldvision.org

Tsunami Quake Charities 1

Child of the Tsunami

Here's a few of the larger charitable organizations colleting funds for the victims of the tsunami in Asia:

Action Against Hunger
247 West 37th Street, Suite 1201
New York, N.Y. 10018
212-967-7800 x108
www.actionagainsthunger.org

AJJDC
American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee
South Asia Tsunami Relief
Box 321
847A Second Avenue
New York, N.Y. 10017
212-687-6200 ext. 851
www.jdc.org

AmeriCares
88 Hamilton Ave
Stamford, CT 06902
800-486-4357
www.americares.org

American Jewish World Service
45 West 36th Street, 10th Floor
New York, N.Y. 10018
800-889-7146
www.ajws.org

American Friends Service Committee
AFSC Crisis Fund
1501 Cherry Street
Philadelphia, Pa. 19102
215-241-7000
www.afsc.org

American Red Cross
International Response Fund
P.O. Box 37243
Washington, D.C. 20013
800-HELP NOW
www.redcross.org

Catholic Relief Services
Tsunami Emergency
P.O. Box 17090
Baltimore, Md. 21203-7090
800-736-3467
www.catholicrelief.org

Direct Relief International
27 South La Patera Lane
Santa Barbara, Calif. 93117
805-964-4767
www.directrelief.org

Doctors Without Borders
P.O. Box 1856
Merrifield, Va. 22116-8056
888-392-0392
www.doctorswithoutborders.org

Food for the Hungry, Inc.
Food for the Hungry
Asia Quake Relief
1224 E. Washington St.
Phoenix, AZ 85034
800-2-HUNGERS
www.fh.org

International Medical Corps
Earthquake/Tsunami Relief
1919 Santa Monica Boulevard, Suite 300
Santa Monica, Calif. 90404
800-481-4462
www.imcworldwide.org

Mercy Corps
Southeast Asia Earthquake Response
Dept. W
P.O. Box 2669
Portland, Ore. 97208
800-852-2100
www.mercycorps.org

Operation USA
8320 Melrose Avenue, Suite 200
Los Angles, Calif. 90069
800-678-7255
www.opusa.org

Oxfam America
Asian Earthquake Fund
PO Box 1211
Albert Lea, MN 56007-1211
800-77-OXFAM
www.oxfamamerica.org

Save The Children
Asia Earthquake/Tidal Wave Relief Fund
54 Wilton Road
Westport, Conn. 06880
800-728-3843
www.savethechildren.org

Islamic Relief USA
Southeast Asia Earthquake Emergency
P.O. Box 6098
Burbank, Calif. 91510
888-479-4968
www.irw.org/asiaquak

US Fund for UNICEF
General Emergency Fund
333 E. 38th Street
New York, NY 10016
800-4-UNICEF
www.unicefusa.org

Stop Hunger Now
SE Asia crisis
2501 Clark Ave, Suite 200
Raleigh, NC 27607
888-501-8440
www.stophungernow.org

World Vision
P.O. Box 70288
Tacoma, WA 98481-0288
800-56-CHILD
www.worldvision.org

World Concern
Asia Earthquake and Tsunami
19303 Fremont Avenue North
Seattle, WA 98133
800-755-5022
www.worldconcern.org

World Emergency Relief
2270-D Camino Vida Roble
Carlsbad, CA 92009
760-930-8001
www.worldemergencyrelief.org

Tsunami Photos 3

South India



Patong Beach, Phuket



Banda Aceh, Sumatra



Aceh Graves



Banda Aceh, Sumatra



Banda Aceh



Banda Aceh



Children in Banda Aceh



Father and Child, South India

Tsunami Photos 2

Banda Aceh Tsunami Victims



Tsunami Wreckage



Phuket Hotel Lobby



Sri Lanka Survivor



Ko Phi Phi Thailand



Khao Lak Thailand



Phuket Hotel Lobby



Sri Lanka Rail Tracks

Tsunami Photos 1

Ko Phi Phi, Thailand, Destroyed by Tsunami



Khao Lak Thailand



Khao Lak Tsunami Survivor



Banda Aceh Sumatra after Tsunami



Sri Lanka Tsunami Survivor



Sri Lanka Tsunami Victim



Patong Beach, Phuket, Tsunami Survivor



Tamil Nadu India



Banda Aceh Tsunami Victims