another weblog on tsunami asia
pluto
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Waxy.org: Daily Log: Amateur Tsunami Video Footage
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<http://www.waxy.org/> <http://www.waxy.org/> Home: Daily Log: Amateur
Tsunami Video Footage December 28, 2004 In addition to the extensive
first-person coverage of the tsunami disaster on blogs, there have been
several amateur recordings of the tsunami from camcorders. Unfortunately,
the network websites aren't making them easy to find and view. The videos
are usually only available as poor-quality, streaming video like
RealPlayer, and buried in popup windows and poor navigation.
<http://www.steeltoe.org/> Ben pointed me to downloadable versions of three
clips. I'm hosting them here. (Unfortunately, I don't have much information
about the source of these videos.)
* <http://waxy.org/random/video/tsunami/phuket.wmv> phuket.wmv (11MB) -
shot from inside a restaurant, waves engulf older couple clinging to
railing before flooding entire room
* patong_beach.wmv (10MB) - rooftop view of two huge waves battering
buildings along shore, then flooding of city streets
* <http://waxy.org/random/video/tsunami/sri_lanka.wmv> sri_lanka.wmv (7MB)
- upper balcony view of hotel swimming pool area getting flooded as
observers run away; woman asks "how high will it go?" before retreating
* koh_lanta_thailand.avi (11MB) - shot on beach level; watch as first wave
grows and crashes, before cameraman's frantic retreat away from shore
* penang_beach.wmv (1MB) - shot from wall above beach, three men are caught
in battering waves
* sri_lanka_resort.wmv (6MB) - upper level hotel balcony; restaurant,
pools, and deck flooded as people cling to trees; two men narrate what they
see
If you have any more first-hand video footage, or higher-quality versions
of any of these videos, please let me know and I'll add them. Most of these
videos are also available as direct downloads from Cheese and Crackers and
<http://www.asiantsunamivideos.com/> Asian Tsunami Videos.
December 29, 2004: Added two more videos. There is also some new footage I
haven't converted yet: BBC footage from a second-story balcony in Aceh,
Indonesia.
December 30, 2004: Wow, you people used over 400GB of bandwidth in a single
day! I'm now redirecting all video requests to several mirrors, courtesy of
Gordon Luk, Leonard Lin, Nathan Perkins, and Ask Bjorn Hansen. Thanks for
the help, guys! (Sorry about the temporary downtime while I was sorting out
the details.) If you can contribute a mirror and have loads of bandwidth,
please e-mail me ASAP.
December 30, 2004: Archive.org is now hosting all the videos. All download
links will now redirect to the Archive.org mirror. Thanks to everyone who
mirrored the files overnight.
Also, a final note... If these videos touched you in any way, consider
donating to the relief efforts.
December 31, 2004: Basically, we broke Archive.org! The largest repository
of public-domain audio, video, and text in the world couldn't handle the
demand for these videos.
I'm now hosting all these videos on <http://waxy.org/bt/> my BitTorrent
tracker instead. Because of the small size of these videos, I was hoping to
avoid requiring a BitTorrent client for downloading, but the demand is just
too high.
January 4, 2004: Back to Archive.org, at Brewster Kahle's request. He
thinks they can handle the traffic now.
Comments
This is the stuff of nightmares. My God.
posted by Tom on December 28, 2004 11:18 AM
Thank you for hosting these.
posted by <http://waldo.jaquith.org/> Waldo Jaquith on December 28, 2004
11:32 AM
The knots in my stomach... horrific stuff
posted by <http://www.tastypopsicle.com/> Ed Knittel on December 28, 2004
01:38 PM
I know it's horrific, but damn I wish I could have been there to see it
first hand. I really can't get a sense of scale of the wave. I want to be
standing on the beach and seeing it coming. Then of course I want to live
through it.
posted by Steve on December 28, 2004 02:42 PM
Steve, I wish you could have seen it first hand, too. The world needs fewer
people like you, and I doubt you'd have lived through it.
posted by Paul on December 28, 2004 02:55 PM
Damn :(
posted by Angie on December 28, 2004 03:16 PM
Paul, your comments are worse than Steves.
posted by Brad on December 28, 2004 03:47 PM
Good job hosting these...it's a real service. These videos shouldn't be
filtered in the disgraceful way the networks do.
posted by Fydor on December 28, 2004 05:53 PM
Not really, Brad. I'm pretty sure that saying you'd "like to have seen a
wave like that first hand" when a tsunami killed 55,000+ people is worse
than my wishing that person had gotten to see the wave first hand.
posted by Paul on December 28, 2004 06:43 PM
Okay, we get the point. Steve's comment may have been insensitive, but he's
not the only one fascinated by the epic nature of natural disasters. Enough
arguing about it, though.
posted by <http://waxy.org/> Andy Baio on December 28, 2004 07:04 PM
horrific... Phuket was especially chilling. Thanks for hosting these. The
headlines are hard to comprehend. These videos bring home to me the horror
of the wave. God help them.
posted by Chris on December 28, 2004 08:53 PM
thank you for posting these.
posted by john on December 28, 2004 09:05 PM
Wow phuket was scary. I never understood how people could die in floods but
now I understand. To see those two guys get swept up and hit down by a
railing is scary.
posted by Martin on December 28, 2004 10:49 PM
I'd like to apologize for my insensitive comment. It was totally not my
intention to come off that way, but I did. So I apologize. I am facinated
by natural disaters, and I often never consider the human impact. Once
again, I'm really sorry if I upset anyone.
posted by steve on December 29, 2004 12:14 AM
Steve, I just wanted to drop a quick note to say that I'm with you. I find
all these videos very informative and explanatory as to how so many people
died; when a 20 foot wave comes at you and you're just in the wrong place
at the wrong time, it's going to take more than a person's possible lung
capacity before the water lets you get anywhere near air.
I too would have liked to have seen this first-hand; we likely won't see
anything quite the same again in our lifetimes with the combination of
location and effect. Many people died, but that's part of why it's good to
know as much as we can about how this sort of thing can happen; while so
many deaths couldn't have been prevented considering the circumstances, a
few might be in the future, even for much smaller waves (how people get
lifted off to sea makes sense to me now).
Paul's just hurt and angry and doesn't like seeing what seems to be someone
ignoring the human death toll; I don't see how anyone could be. But the way
to make anything positive out of this is to focus on the fact that a truce
was declared by the Tamil Tigers while the rescue missions are going on,
and that a lot of countries are bonding together to send help. That's good
to know it can still happen, and I'm learning the names of a lot of
organizations to give money to.
Inspiring and awesome (in the old sense of the word).
posted by <http://www.textfiles.com/> Jason Scott on December 29, 2004
12:45 AM
i understand where steve is coming from, although he may have worded his
statements insensitively. For example, I'd like to see a tornado or an
exploding volcano, even though both can cause massive casualties and
damage.
there's a fascination with the raw power of nature in all of us that
probably is in our DNA and goes back to the dawn of time.
posted by justin on December 29, 2004 04:42 AM
death at the hands of a natural disaster is as the name suggests - natural.
i, like many people, am fascinated with the power of nature. one of the
most annoying social quirks that has come out of recent events is when
people try to enforce their sense of suffering and duty and sympathy upon
the rest of us. There is no wrong way to grieve. Some do it with jokes --
others with instropection -- and some with vast prayer and what not. so if
someone chooses to respond to the natural death of 63,000 plus people with
curiosity to the powers that caused it and you have a problem with that --
I say hold your tongue (please). you are perfectly entitled to your
reactions, but you are not entitled to wish guilt upon others for theirs.
the same type of group projected pyschosis happened after 9/11.
and as a postscript, natural disasters are necessary for life to continue
on this planet. when they stop, that means the earth's core has stopped
spinning and the planet is dead and all life on it is soon to follow. so,
instead of lamenting, i'm rejoicing that our planet is alive.
i don't expect anyone else to share in my joy.
posted by millet on December 29, 2004 05:53 AM
When the scientists dig up the true facts , you´ll get records of 40 meter
waves at places near the epicenter - the only safe place is on a very high
hilltop - the images we are seeing are actually miraculous, as this one of
nature´s big
wipeouts!! Few , if any are able to live through
this-check out Scotch Cap Disaster - Babi Island -
Papua New Guinea - these were major events too !!
posted by JOHN on December 29, 2004 05:59 AM
number of dead was over 80k today. and it will propably increase to over a
100k of dead people over all when everyone is found.
according to UN and WHO there are over 5.000.000 poeple that needs help.
Horrible!
posted by Blizz on December 29, 2004 08:31 AM
There is no rejoicing in this at all as interesting the phenominon is.
posted by on December 29, 2004 08:48 AM
When watching the footage of the tsunami disaster, it's hard to grasp the
magnitude of the waves. When watching the Twin Towers fall, the impact was
much more obvious. To think we lost 3,000 people in that horrific event
compared to the 75,000 plus people lost in this tragedy is staggering. Loss
of life is horrible, whether in a natural disaster of such incredible
magnitude or a car full of innocent people killed by a drunk driver. I
grieve with the suffering.
posted by <http://www.o2bee.com/> toni on December 29, 2004 09:30 AM
"75,000" sure?
posted by me on December 29, 2004 09:44 AM
cnn.com is now reporting 80,000 deaths.
posted by pat on December 29, 2004 10:13 AM
I too am awed by the power of Mother Nature.
I trolled around and pulled together some of the best photos and videos of
the actual wave that I could find.
.:DataWhat?:.
The lives lost are beyond tragic, but the power of the planet is awesome in
the truest sense of the word.
posted by Zac on December 29, 2004 10:42 AM
The video was aight, but doesn't do anything to help me understand the
human loss. These people should just leave and then there would be less
deaths.
posted by vid-king on December 29, 2004 10:51 AM
Hi there, thanks for hosting this. I just did a Google search on tsunami,
video, and December, and wandered into your site. Amazing stuff to watch;
for those of us in N. America, it's hard to watch this and think it's real.
I hope the aid reaches the survivors in time...
--Poshboy, Washington, DC, USA.
posted by Poshboy on December 29, 2004 11:09 AM
This is some amazing stuff. Scarey, sad, disturbing. My Heart goes out to
the people.
posted by Dean on December 29, 2004 11:42 AM
I deeply feel for those people. Don't say they should have left, few people
could have predicted the strength just by looking at the big wave.
Only those who know the ocean could have estimated it.
I hope rescue will come fast enough to avoid an epidemy.
Mary
posted by Mary on December 29, 2004 12:02 PM
What do i use to open thses video files.
Windows media 10, VLC, Quicktime, DIVX pro, Easy DIVX player and Power DVD
dont work.
posted by Paul on December 29, 2004 01:25 PM
Re: Where the traffic is coming from. This is the second site that comes up
if you type tsunami video into Google.
posted by on December 29, 2004 02:07 PM
anybody wanna toss these on a torrent using azureus...i started to download
them and I think that the bandwidth overloaded because they don't
finish...?
posted by sher on December 29, 2004 02:23 PM
Again, hard to imagine anything like this. Interesting, was just watching
Day After Tomorrow and you see the massive waves hit but it's a movie. Next
day I'm watching CNN and seeing this happen. I heard that there was no
warning but if people are videocamering then dont they know the danger? Why
are people hanging around in some parts? I'm still confused about this
posted by Dave on December 29, 2004 02:38 PM
I guess the bandwidth is now used up because note of the links load into my
media player. Anyone have ideas or additional links?
posted by Og on December 29, 2004 03:10 PM
Thanks a ton for posting these videos. I plan to use them in the Natural
Disasters course I teach for the first time next semster. Like no other
material, these demonstrate the powerlessness of humans against the forces
of nature.
posted by Dr. Robb on December 29, 2004 03:13 PM
This is spine chilling. Never seen anything like this. Nature at its
ruthless best.
posted by Ravi on December 29, 2004 03:29 PM
i was at langkawi beach, malaysia, after an hour the earthquake i see the
low tide very fast about 200 meters i felt there is something wrong, we
just leave the beach asap, and as i felt from far away i can see a huge
tidal waves about 26-30ft getting near very fast, im lucky to survive and
feel sorry for those who lost their families and homes
posted by shiva on December 29, 2004 03:37 PM
The video with the older couple holding on to each other only to be swayed
away seconds later is running on different TV stations today (including
CNN). The German NTV news channel was showing it around 15 hours after it
was posted here. NTV shows http://www.db.no as source for this video (DB is
the Norwegian newspaper "Dagbladet").
By the way, I see Waxy.org as number 1 (not 2) in Google for Tsunami Video,
but I'm sure it must be something Andy can't track -- Google referrers can
be tracked, but someone getting a URL from TV or radio cannot be tracked.
posted by Philipp Lenssen on December 29, 2004 04:09 PM
Having problems w/ the AVI file (error downloading codec)...any ideas guys?
Thanks
LT
posted by Logan on December 29, 2004 04:36 PM
If you change the domain part on those video links to
http://waxy.org.nyud.net:8090 you will have a "coralized" version, which
will be less of a hit on your web server. It uses a cached/distributed
method of serving the files.
More info here:
http://www.scs.cs.nyu.edu/coral/
posted by Rog on December 29, 2004 04:43 PM
Does anyone believe this is an 'Act of God'? If so, he can't be very
pleasant.
It sure is as far as insurance companies are concerned but personally I'd
have grave doubts about His motives if I was a believer.
posted by Jonathan Lucas on December 29, 2004 05:22 PM
I noticed your site was having a few delays and took the liberty of
mirroring the videos...I hope you don't mind. You can even link to them on
my site if you have bandwidth problems. I think you have done a great
service by posting these videos. Thanks!
http://www.maxmomirror.com/mirror/tsunami/
posted by <http://www.maxmomirror.com/> Nathan Perkins on December 29,
2004 06:03 PM
Wow unbelievable. Its odd because no one has ever seen such a thing other
than in a movie and in movies it is so magnified, like sky scraperes
getting covered, that you get a little decensatised by it. At first when I
started to see the 1st video the long distant shots did not do justice to
the destructive power. Once I saw the resturant video with the old couple
getting swipped away it then hit me even though these waves are like 5% the
size of waves we see in movies yet their shear volume and unrelenting flow
will do mass damage.
Givin that Indonasia has so many earthquakes someone should have installed
advance warning systems for the whole region. I know an Austrailing
scientist had suggested it just under a year ago. We never learn
prevention.
I got to this site from Google.
Does anyone know what codec is to be used to watch the "Koh Lanta Tailand"
video?
posted by Arash on December 29, 2004 06:04 PM
I found you thru google, keyword search tsunami video. Thank you for
hosting, you are doing a great service.
God bless the injured and the families of the victims
posted by Jen on December 29, 2004 06:07 PM
Hey, Andy, I wound up here looking for the iTunes pics, but you have a
great site. Wow...those are insane videos, (especially phuket.wmv). It can
be hard to really "get it" living here in safely of the USA. The horrible
thing is, with some sort of warning system, countless lives could have been
saved.
Anyways, it's awesome that you've been willing to host these as long as you
have. Your site is already grinding to a halt. : (
posted by <http://www.colinhill.us/> Colin Hill on December 29, 2004 06:19
PM
One thing I find most horrific about so many of the amateur footage I've
seen is how the people filming the videos don't seem to fully grasp the
true danger of the situation...and particularly the fact that lives are
being lost as they stand by and film. Some even seem to be "ooohing and
ahhhing" as though they find it amusing. Well, I guess it's hard to say how
one would react in such a situation -- with disbelief at what they're
seeing, I suppose. I also find it disturbing that some of these people
(filming) are not rushing to help those in need -- particularly the two
(Australian?) men who are watching from a roof as people try to cling to
trees, while commenting: "Gee, I hope they can swim." I do appreciate the
footage that has been provided, though. While it only deepens my sorrow, it
also helps me feel even more compassion for those people, in having seen
what they've seen (somewhat). I can only hope that the majority of those
who have died went quickly and painlessly. It is time to think globally. I
urge everyone to donate what they can and keep these people in your
prayers.
posted by Carrie Liew on December 29, 2004 07:15 PM
Found site searching for downloadable versions. Wow. This is big news. I'm
wondering what impact this will have on the ring of fire and Mt. St.
Helens. Not only that but the earthquakes that will follow elsewhere and
the weather pattern changes that may occur in the near future. This could
have global impact. My mind is going a mile a minute.
posted by jennifer on December 29, 2004 07:17 PM
Thanks for sharing these videos. Initially the US media did not cover this
story as one would have expected (hoped) but the same can be said for 99%
of any news that happens outside our borders. Its disturbing. Please know
that our hearts and prayers go out to everyone affected by this tragedy.
Having lived through 9/11, I can appreciate the impact that this will have
on your lives for years to come. Peace.
posted by Chris on December 29, 2004 07:25 PM
http://www.2bangkok.com/quakes.shtml#30 is linking you.
posted by shaky on December 29, 2004 07:29 PM
for those interested
http://cnews.canoe.ca/CNEWS/World/2004/12/29/801283-cp.html has some
information on the donations to date, (I was wrong spain is at 68m almost
double Japan or the USA)
posted by on December 29, 2004 07:42 PM
How is it that so many nutjobs can turn this tragedy into something
anti-american? So many dead and people are using this as an opportunity to
knock politicians or site inadequacies of the media. Your political beliefs
would not have saved one soul.
posted by andy on December 29, 2004 07:44 PM
Thank you for posting the links. This is crazy. Absolutely crazy.
posted by <http://www.xanga.com/jugar> Michael Hope on December 29, 2004
08:05 PM
How is it that so many nutjobs can turn this tragedy into something
anti-american? So many dead and people are using this as an opportunity to
knock politicians or site inadequacies of the media. Your political beliefs
would not have saved one soul.
Wrong, the whole idea of banging on about America not contributing enough
as a percentage of GDP is to increase pressure so that it does donate a
higher percentage. As has been shown here until recently you believed
America was a good donater now you know differently. If all Americans knew
that the politicians would do something and that would save a lot of the
lives that are at risk now
The big problem from where I'm sitting is that yet again the American media
is letting the public down with it's coverage of an absolutely massive
disaster.
posted by Dave on December 29, 2004 08:06 PM
All of this sadness has underscored something else very sad - the misguided
priorities of our administration.
The president has pledged an appalingly paltry amount of aid to these
people. Of course, the critical factor one must consider here is the amount
of aid we have pledged so far compared to that pledged by other rich
countries and also as percentage of our GDP. When considered from this more
rational economic perspective, one realizes just how very, very,
very...very low the amount of aid really is. More is being spent in the
first hour of waging war in Iraq EACH MORNING than is being spent to save
lives from this disaster.
Sad indeed and how this reveals Bush's true priorities.
posted by Thomas on December 29, 2004 08:11 PM
Once again your "pointy headedness" has stated that the media is to blame
for us being in the dark, yet I am on the same sight as you with the same
information. You just choose to pay more attention to the negative media
about our aid. Talk about being unobjective.
posted by andy on December 29, 2004 08:16 PM
All I can say I that I HAVE contributed to the relief effort. Have you? If
so then you are setting a great examle. If not then .......... It's all
fine to talk about "the tragety" or how Horrific it is. But if all your
doing is talking then your not helping anything. Go donate to the red cross
or another releif organization. Then come back here and "chat".
posted by Shawn on December 29, 2004 08:17 PM
>One thing I find most horrific about so many of the amateur
>footage I've seen is how the people filming the videos don't
>seem to fully grasp the true danger of the situation
would you without the perspective the media and distance give you? During
the 9/11 crashes in New York, friends in the city were calling me in
Washington state on their mobile phones, asking me what was going on
because they were on their morning commutes and didn't have any idea what
was happening. I doubt many people in Indonesia or Thailand had any idea
what was happening at the time, or the enormity of it. So go easy on those
who were filming it-- they likely lacked the perspective those of us at a
distance have as the reports filter through.
posted by tim on December 29, 2004 08:18 PM
As a matter of fact I am making a contribution to the red cross, but that
is just little old me. I am just concerned with the people bringing the
Iraq war into this to further their political objectives. If I see the word
Iraq again I will vomit, and I myself will move to Canada.
posted by andy on December 29, 2004 08:27 PM
Great job!!!
May God bless all these people
posted by Mohsin on December 29, 2004 08:28 PM
Tim your absolutly correct, the international coverage of the tsunami was
more informative than the local thai coverage, The thai media isn't equiped
to cover something of this magnatude. The vast majority of the footage(even
that shown here) was from homevideos of tourists on vacation with no
knowege that there was a tsunami until the waves struck. I hear prople
critisizing some of the people recording the event, but put yourself in
thier shoes, HOW WERE THEY SUPPOSED TO KNOW THE SCOPE OF THE DISASTER.
After the fact it is easy for people to critisize the "humanity" of the
videographers but the people critisizing them know that 100,000 died and it
is a huge deal. the person videoing on scene knew there was a big wave
washing over the beach!
posted by Shawn on December 29, 2004 08:34 PM
Andy: if you're contributing then it is irrelevent what your govenmment is
doing. Because the govenment is supposed to mirror the people not the other
way around.
posted by Shawn on December 29, 2004 08:37 PM
You've made the "popular" list on http://del.icio.us/ I'd guess a large
amount of your traffic is from there.
Torrent anyone?
posted by Chris on December 29, 2004 08:40 PM
Like so many, I was under the impression the
tsunami were towering behemoth that layed low
the tallest of buildings. So of course, when
I watched these videos, the very first impression
was "Wow...those don't look big at all." A few
seconds later, I was understanding what was
going on and how so many people are being
affected by this natural event.
Not only is it death toll (it's too easy to
get lost in just that number). I'm now under-
standing the problems with disease, lack of
food and fresh water...all that standing water
with corpses still to be found. No, this stretches
far beyond a death toll. It's hard for me to
imagine the number of people directly affected
by this event. Thanks for posting these. It gives
me a little better perspective I think.
posted by Shawn on December 29, 2004 09:16 PM
the tsunamis alone cost more than 70,000++ lives, not even accounting for
diseases, lack of
food and fresh water etc yet..
Imagine the death toll in the longer term.
posted by wj-Malaysia on December 29, 2004 09:47 PM
i google searched "tsunami video footage"... this was the 1st link. U asked
how so many people found this site right?
posted by Jason Martinez on December 29, 2004 10:10 PM
I think it's good for all to see the video and photos. This isn't because
of some sick cruel mind, but rather it brings to perspective that in an
instant we could all loose our lives! I'm sure the guys who took the
initial video didn't comprehend 80K would die. Even though we read about it
and see it, can you comprehend it now? I'm in total shock and horror and
still can't comprehemd it. It's like being shellshocked. Image the city you
live in gone.. It's a great great sadness. Why does it always take a
tregedy like this to get a government to act on warning systems and such?
posted by Jim on December 29, 2004 10:14 PM
Just wanted to add my two cents worth to some of the things I've read
here...
Neil says, "What about the comments of the two idiots on the patong video,
laughing at the wave coming in like it was a game. That made me feel sick,"
and Carrie Liew says, "I also find it disturbing that some of these people
(filming) are not rushing to help those in need -- particularly the two
(Australian?) men who are watching from a roof as people try to cling to
trees, while commenting: "Gee, I hope they can swim."
I think this illustrates one of two points -- one, that people didn't
really understand the magnitude of what was happening at the time, as
evidenced by people standing on the beach watching this thing roll in.
Second, a sense of helplessness. What exactly would you have had those
Australians do? Rush down there and get swept back into the sea along with
everyone else? Call the fire department? Beam them out of the water and
into Transporter Room Three? One of them even says, "there is nothing we
can do." And he's right.
Dave says, "it's shocking how little coverage the US media is giving this
disaster in comparison to the rest of the world."
What in the name of all that is holy and just are you talking about? It's
on the news, on talk shows, on the front page of every newspaper I've seen,
even in commercials seeking relief funds. It was a bit low-key at first but
as the scope of the situation became apparent the media coverage stepped up
accordingly.
Dave also says, "Even the amount of aid the US is sending is pathetic in
comparison to the amount other countries are giving."
Hey Dave? F**k you. I for one have become a little bit tired of the world's
entitlement mentality when they want America's aid. Bunch of ungrateful
bollocks. BTW, do any of the "which countries are supplying X amount of
aid" try to factor in the cost of OUR MILITARY delivering aid supplied by
other countries? Or how about America's private donations? Does anyone care
that Americans donate some 35 billion dollars a year in private foreign aid
over and above what the government supplies? Or is everyone too busy
whining about how America doesn't give enough? At what point does it become
clear that the world's expectations of what America owes them is so
outrageous that there will never be enough to satisfy them? When do we say
"enough" and stop trying to meet those expectations?
If Thais like the anonymous poster here have time to quibble over whether
America is the largest source of relief aid, apparently I have
overestimated the urgency of the situation and my donation isn't needed
after all.
If Sri Lanka can afford to turn away help from Israeli soldiers, then
surely they don't need my $25.
You want aid? Here's the best aid anyone can supply: get rid of your
corrupt economic and political systems that keep your nations dirt-poor and
veritably lacking the resources to cope with natural disasters.
posted by Drover on December 29, 2004 10:22 PM
I found this link on another blog... I'm writing in from singapore and saw
the local media using the Phuket footage...
Most of these people were bewildered when they saw the waves coming in...
posted by Jeanette on December 29, 2004 10:36 PM
Dover,
Ur 2 cents are worth more than what you've expressed. Bravo!
-- "Here's the best aid anyone can supply: get rid of your corrupt economic
and political systems that keep your nations dirt-poor and veritably
lacking the resources to cope with natural disasters." --
But this is a bit harsh on those poor ppl. We're talking about ppl's lives
here and the donation/aid are all aimed for doing jz tiny bit to help and
relieve them from their collosal misery.
p/s: you're lucky you never live in these so-called third-world country.
Peace.
posted by wj on December 29, 2004 10:38 PM
Well wj, it may be harsh but sometimes the most effective medicine is. And
that very prescription is the best way to minimize the impact of events
like this and break the pattern of relying on aid from foreigners *after*
the fact. Foreign aid is a disincentive to institute the reforms necessary
to end reliance on foreign aid. Harsh? A little. Circular? maybe. Accurate?
You bet.
posted by Drover on December 29, 2004 10:54 PM
I was looking for some amateur video footage on google, this site turned
out to be ranked 1st.
I'm in Mauritius further down in the Indian Ocean, we escaped the natural
calamity.
posted by Atul on December 29, 2004 11:26 PM
Drover, try reading what's in the posts. I was pointing out to someone that
implied america was the biggest donner. It is irrelivent how much they
give, the point was get your facts strait before you type! Did you read all
of what I wrote? or just the first scentence?? And to resopnd to your
statment about support money, Thailand dosent really need it, atleast not
on the scale that indonesia and srilanka do, we have a very healthy
economic situation (hence the USA's deperation to have us sign a FTA.) In
thailand it was mostly tourists that we're killed. Very little was damaged
other than beach side resorts and a few sparcly populated fishing vilages.
As a forener living in thailand I see how much aid comes in objectivly, my
home country isn't suplying any more than the USA is but atleast they
aren't claiming to. The US has no obligation to assist any other country.
But then don't expect other countries to rally behind you when you have you
next big war. (ps. thailand was one of those countries that follow you to
your last war) As a net importing country the US relies on many of these
3rd world countries to keep your prices down. The reason the US government
helps is because they have to maintain trade and good realations. THe
reason that the public provides is because people are generaly good and
generous. Don't mistake your govenment's motives with that of your fellow
americans.
Not everyone is looking for a peice of the "american pie" but if you want
to claim you are the most generous, liberating, etc. country you can expect
people to call you on it when you don't live up to your claims.
If you claim you are the stingiest, most self centered nation nobody
expects anything of you(point nobody expects russia to donate or help but
they don't claim to be the worlds biggest humanitarian)
If you got th the end of this post *bravo* now read through it one more
time (spelling errors and all) Then think for one mnute(I know it seems
like a long time) then come back with your GI-JOE attitude and let me have
it.
posted by Shawn on December 29, 2004 11:43 PM
Now to put an end to this childish foolishness.
Lot's of people are in need right now, if you can you should help in some
way. After all you never know when you may need assitance.
All politics aside I am very impressed with the way so many countries have
come together to offer aid in such a short amount of time.
This is my last post, so have a good new year and be safe.
posted by Shawn on December 29, 2004 11:49 PM
how do I watch .wmv files when I'm on a mac with only a quicktime player?
posted by Andy on December 29, 2004 11:58 PM
andy there is a mac verion of WMP just go to the microsoft site and
download it.
posted by on December 30, 2004 12:01 AM
thanks heaps. Downloading it now.
posted by Andy on December 30, 2004 12:06 AM
To the guys who are comparing these waves to the tsunamis in movies, the
tsunamis in the movies such as Deep Impact or the James Bond film (where
Bond surfs the wave) are actually megatsunamis, a very rare form of tsunami
that is caused not by earthquakes but by landslides (any large displacement
of water, so a meteor as well). These waves are higher then 100 meters and
can reach much higher then that still, such as the one in Alaska in the
50's that was 520 meters high.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Megatsunami
My thoughts are with the families of the dead.
posted by Chris on December 30, 2004 12:15 AM
I removed quite a few comments from this thread, mostly name-calling,
flames, and other trolling. If you can't keep it civil, you don't belong
here.
posted by <http://waxy.org/> Andy Baio on December 30, 2004 12:17 AM
Along with the tsunamis, the earthquake also moved the earth slightly off
its axis and moved some islands over 60 feet. The immediate results include
having a day that is 3 microseconds shorter and a need for new maps for
some geographical areas. The long term effects are unpredictable, just as
the tsunamis were generally not expected.
Good resource at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2004_Indian_Ocean_earthquake
posted by Rachel on December 30, 2004 12:33 AM
As it started I thought it was just a wave but as it started sweeping
things on its way it became a dangerous one. Tonnes of iron and wood chunks
to make it one hell of a load to thrash anything on its way. Ants!!! - To
be Humans...
God Bless 1/4 Earth...May be lesser now...
posted by Bhavanesh on December 30, 2004 12:37 AM
hey. you should have done a bit-torrent distribution. just to make it
easier on yourself.
posted by Mike Machlin on December 30, 2004 12:45 AM
while certainnly the USA money was seemingly low. However it was at the
time the number chosen based on the projections of the moment. As
everything becomes more evident the US will indeed give more. Besides this
single event, the US gov. gives more aid to various nations more than all
the other nations combined each year. So stick that where it belongs. This
is a truely awful event indeed. Certainly for proof posotive that there is
no god. At lewast the all knowing and seeing and powerful one as descrbed
in modern religion
posted by Pete on December 30, 2004 12:49 AM
The following site was brought to my attention elsewhere:
http://crackhouse.blogspot.com/
Apparently it contains a bigger collection of Tsunami footage and satellite
images collected into one BitTorrent file (TsunamiTorrent V1).
posted by Philipp Lenssen on December 30, 2004 12:53 AM
It is not possible 2 comprehend the impact of a natural disaster of this
sort from watching it on video tape or being there when it happened. It is
after it is over and the damage is in our faces, that we understand how bad
it is. The responsible thing is to do all u can to help the countries hit.
They really need all the help they can get as they are not as fortunate as
rich countries like the US, and they are is desperate need of medical and
food supplies. Find out ways to contribute to relif efforts now that u have
seen mabye 1% of the damage caused by this horrific calamity.
Vir-India
posted by malthus on December 30, 2004 12:55 AM
This tragedy saddens us all. I'm from Singapore and though we were
untouched by the quake and tsunamis, we feel much for our neighbours in SE
Asia. Almost immediately, the people here are collecting funds and
necessities for those suffering.
Someone mentioned US not having enough coverage about things outside your
borders, perhaps this site will shed more light on what's the real
situation like... Channel News Asia (CNA) gives a good coverage on what is
happening around this region.
http://www.channelnewsasia.com/
posted by Ida on December 30, 2004 01:38 AM
Thank you for the opportunity to see part of what really happened. We had
quite a scare with a friend on Phi Phi Island but he is now in Bangkok
resting, after he was placed on a boat in Krabi and headed out from there.
What I feel from the above posts are people's pain and guilt. You all have
made very good arguments about important matters. But also understand you
are hurting (me too) as there is so little that we as individuals can do
right now. Feeling powerless can produce blame. However, aid appears to be
at hand and many agencies and governments will step up, regardless of
intention. What really matters is that we keep faith in our neighbors, our
world and ourselves, because there is no magic wand out there to make post
disasters vanish.
We are the survivors for now, embrace your fortune and let's do what we
can, however small the personal or financial contribution. Stay powerful!
posted by <http://www.crazypinoy.com/> Gene In Seattle on December 30, 2004
01:44 AM
Amazing, almost as moving as 9/11. People will remember this for years to
come. Me thoughts are with the many families that lost loved ones. Good
will and peace on earth to all.
posted by George Biggleton on December 30, 2004 01:50 AM
This footage is unbelievable. It makes you sit up and realise how lucky we
are in Australia not to fall victims to such natural disasters of that
magnitude. Its great to see that someone is showing the whole footage and
not just snippets. Pitty though that I couldn't get koh_lanta_thailand.avi
(11MB) to play.
posted by DJ Johnny on December 30, 2004 01:51 AM
Some of you guys are acting like real dunderheads, you know that? How about
we discuss this situation with the reverence it deserves - both for the
power of nature and devastation of life.
posted by Nan on December 30, 2004 01:58 AM
I sympathize to all that have died that day and to their family. This is
life itself, you'll never know when your time come. I never want to see
this kind of things happened to someone or to my family. But this kind of
footage(s) brings reality on things that can happen to all of us. Let just
hope their family can cope up with these and to go on with these lives.
posted by bil_san on December 30, 2004 02:16 AM
It is absolutely amazing to see these different videos of the tsunamis
hitting various places in southeast asia. My entire life, I have always
wondered what it would be like to witness such an event. Coupled with the
incredible awe of seeing such forces of nature that are completely beyond
our control is the feeling of utter sadness for what these poor people have
gone through and will continue to go through for years to come. The loss is
staggering. I suffered damage during the northridge earthquake in 1994 and
by comparison, that was a "walk in the park" compared to these tsunamis. I
realize that some think it almost ghoulish to see these videos. However, I
see nothing wrong in wanting to witness such incredible forces of nature.
It is normal human curiosity. And it is also human nature to help those in
need. Therefore, I urge any of you reading this to send a donation to help.
Amazon.com has a link directly on their homepage.
posted by Richard on December 30, 2004 02:18 AM
Really a terrible event. Nat and I have donated Ł40 ($76) toward fixing the
places up for the locals of the countries and taking care of those
affected...please do the same.
Rick and Nat - Islington, London
posted by Rick and Nat on December 30, 2004 02:47 AM
I came on here to view clips of the tragedy. After reading the posts I'm
utterly embarrassed to be an American. If anyone wonders why we can't go
abroad without hostility...
And if if you support the war in Iraq or not, it's hard to watch this stuff
and then scratch your head when the US says it's going to be difficult to
come up with the money. Boys, when the ship comes in for us, don't expect
anyone to come to our aid.
posted by Mike James on December 30, 2004 02:54 AM
Gracias por vuestro servicio, en Chile estamos consternados por la muerte
en las islas. La proliferacion de video camaras esta haciendo mas facil la
compresion de eventos pero mas dificil la existencia de muchos. Creo que
ver es la posibilidad de aprender, Chile es un pais que es una costa y esta
muy cerca de poder vivir algo igual.
Gracias
posted by Fernando on December 30, 2004 02:56 AM
Why are all you people moaning about politics? Have you people no respect.
There is many people dead out there, a high percentage of them children and
all you people can do is whinge. Do something productive with your time.
Donate money to those who need your help now. Did you know ?10 can keep a
family supplyed with bottled water for a week. Im ashamed to be part of a
nation where people only think of themselves. Get a life!!!!!!
posted by Ashleigh on December 30, 2004 03:08 AM
Good Job & Good Collection.
I dont know what is your aim for hosting these,
But I can assure that some of the viewers will come forward to donate some
thing for the victims.
I request all to donate for a real cause and to the needies.
I pray god not to happen again this kind of dammage.
posted by Bhaskar on December 30, 2004 03:33 AM
These video shots give me the creeps. Many thanks for sharing them. I just
hope the local ecomony will be restored asap. Also, may this disaster us
not distract from a senseless war that America still intends to win.
posted by Stefaan on December 30, 2004 03:35 AM
This footage blew me a way, at first sight I was gasping, horrified, like I
was right there too. I can't believe how scary this must've been for these
unfortunate people over there. I'm lucky to live in California, we don't
get tsunami's....we get quake's, but none as horrific as a tsunami can be.
posted by Marijane24 on December 30, 2004 03:35 AM
Hey All,
Thanks for hosting these video's. I actually got a glimpse of the Tsunami
which hit our coast in chennai at 10.30 am , but i was not able to cover
this event live on my digicam which i had unfortunately left at my office.
Man the waves were awesome and would have ripped anything which would have
come in its path. This was actually the third tsunami wave which hit on
sunday. I actually missed the first two which was even more worst than
this. My heart goes out to all the people who lost their lives and homes
during this incident.
posted by Sridhar on December 30, 2004 03:57 AM
Check this link out. Was oil-drilling responsible? See what happened in the
lead up to the almighty quake. It's odd that animals know best and to see
whales beaching themselves before the EARLIER quake is interesting. What do
u think?
http://story.news.yahoo.com/fc?cid=34&tmpl=fc&in=Science&cat=Asia_Tsunami_Disaster
posted by Neil on December 30, 2004 04:15 AM
Thanx for the movies man!
This site, and the moviehosters are a real good addition to the internet
posted by d4ze on December 30, 2004 04:23 AM
Guys, have some respect, please.
Regardless of race, colour or creed, we are all human beings and we are all
connected somehow in the much bigger scheme of things... whether you like
it, know it, or not. So, when many of us die, we all lose a little piece of
our own humanity, our own existence.
Be aware of your own indifferences... you can write whatever smart,
inhumane comments you want, but remember that when you press send... they
are your words sent out to the universe... and they will return.
Sadie.
posted by sadie on December 30, 2004 04:31 AM
Thanks for the amazing footage!! Lets all try help as best we can.
And to all you bickering fools - Put some energy into doing some good, and
pull your thumb from your ass and make a donation.
posted by Robbie on December 30, 2004 04:33 AM
in fairness to steve he just wanted to see the awesome size of nature,
mentioned nothing about the human cost and in fairness we are all in awe
otherwise we wont be posting any responses ive bet youve all seen the video
and tv footing so does that also brand you the same way?
posted by lewie on December 30, 2004 04:52 AM
Hope human beings realize that a slight fury of nature is enough to cause a
catastrophe of such magnitude.Learn, think, and stop fighting among
yourselves and value the gift of life.
posted by Rj on December 30, 2004 04:55 AM
This is fear in its strongest form, the devastating strength and terror
shown makes me get chills from my home in london !
Hope that nothing like this is ever allowed to happen again.
posted by dave on December 30, 2004 04:56 AM
I live in Barbados and if something of this magnitude is to happen here, I
believe you would be saying "There WAS once a beautiful island named
Barbados." :(
I am very much saddened by these photos and videos. Especially what is
happening in the world today.
Thanks for the photos and the effort you putting into keeping us aware of
what is happening on the Asian side of the world.
Everyone is really touched in more ways than one by it.
Kim
posted by Kim on December 30, 2004 05:01 AM
lewie,
I totally agree. It is human nature to want to view atrocities, whether
they be natural or man made. The difference here is that, with 9/11 we were
sheilded from seeing human beings in the "process of dying". No film clips
were ever made public of the people jumping (or landing for that matter)
from the twin towers, but they exist. In these tsunami clips, we actually
see human beings being pulled to their deaths... we see the dead being
displayed to the media... this is what makes it so real to us. The media
treats the atrocities that occur in other countries as if they don't affect
us in an emotional way, which makes these victims less "human" to some.
I've been in tears for the last three days, but it has been an experience
that will stick with me long after 9/11 is forgotten - because sites like
this and the media have given me the ability to view the suffering these
people must have experienced. It's one thing to hear "I lost my child"...
it's another to actually see it happen.
posted by James in the USA on December 30, 2004 05:14 AM
*** my greatest sympathy to the family of those victims on that said
tragedy."theres no such things in this world as permanent except changes."
i really understand the feelings of the family who has a relatives there on
the said incident..,how they grave and move on.its so very hard,let us talk
to god to not this things be happen again.its hard to lose someone we
love.let just pray that god made things to be happened because he has a
great plan for us allmen.things so happened so fast and cannot understand
the way can,but let us be strong on facing this kind of matter,lets just be
strong and keep the faith that god always here with us despite those
tragedy....
posted by **billyjhanejian** on December 30, 2004 05:20 AM
The number just topped 115,000 according to CNN. This is going to be a long
week.
posted by James in the USA on December 30, 2004 05:22 AM
Sorry Billy, but "God" and I are going to have a serious discussion about
this one. If this was some kind of "test" (as i was tought to believe in my
catholic upbringing), I fail to see the point of it.
We are here to fend for ourselves. While there may be an after-life, I must
assume that our governor has no control over our physical lives. While you
pray, I'll keep working to improve mankind. Praying is easy, fixing the
problem is hard work... and frankly, I am disgusted with the likes of
people who think that they can get through life (and life can get through)
with nothing more than prayer.
You have the right to pray... in fact, I am greatful to those that do...
but it takes more than prayer to get through life. "God" doesn't like
freeloaders any more than I do.
Think I'm done for the night. Thanks for letting me vent. - James
posted by James in the USA on December 30, 2004 05:37 AM
Lord have mercy...those kids who have lost their parents, those parents
who've lost their children. We all are on our knees and pray...May God be
with you...
posted by Allu on December 30, 2004 05:56 AM
All you guys out there - dig deep in your pockets and donate as much money
for all those millions of poor people in countries that can ill afford such
horrendous calamity. PLEASE dont't stop giving. PLEASE don't forget them.
posted by Rohan on December 30, 2004 06:04 AM
see more videos in: http://www.brturbo.com/noticias/videos_tsunami.htm
[]s
posted by john on December 30, 2004 06:15 AM
On a parting note...
Yes, I am very saddened by all of this. No one deserves what these people
have endured and will endure for the next few years. All I am saying is
that we in the US are so brainwashed that we no longer capeable of seeing
the human side of issues unless we have a video in our face. Don't we all
believe that there are similar situations in Iraq (caused by MAN, not
nature)? I am now looking at a small Island called "Chilong" (bad spelling)
that used to house over 137 thousand people... there are less than 100
people left there!!!! Our media has given this community less than 10
minutes of coverage in the last 24 hours... and there was almost 10 minutes
on the war in Iraq... come on!!! I am so tired of this "it's all about me"
attitude simply because we want to pay less than 2 bucks for a gallon of
gas. Hope we're all proud of ourselves. BTW... the new report is $37
million from the US gov, and almost $2 million from the private sector in
aid to Asia. Woooo-Hoooo!!!! This is so, so very sad.
Don't like it? Turn the chanel. Janet is about to expose another tit (by
the way, our government has spent more on FCC regualation enforcement in
the last year than we will ever give to these Asian countries).
Proud to be leaving...
James
posted by James in the USA on December 30, 2004 06:17 AM
What I find amazing is that with the digital recorders spreading all over
we can actually see everything like we've been there :
- 9/11
- War in Iraq & prisons
- This
And without media filtering
Now I'd rather not be there when it happens, I'm not really comfortable
with dead people all over the place.
posted by Gab on December 30, 2004 06:21 AM
Thanks for hosting this site. For me seeing the videos firsthand brings
home the enormity of the human suffering. Just hearing the numbers is
numbing. Seeing individuals swept away, or throngs on the beach moments
before it hit puts things in perspective. That fight I had with my wife
last night is nothing.....I grabbed my 2 yr old daughter and held her with
the sadness that so many had lost theirs....and I don't want to hear any
shit about how this is not all about me. It is about all of us.
On a different note, Bush has blown a tremendous opportunity to come out
with real moral authority and lead the world. We, as a nation, need to show
that the United States is not completely composed of war-mongering
evangelists. We can spend billions on the war in Iraq....25 or 35 million
is it for this tragedy. Not enough oil in Sumatra....
posted by Pat on December 30, 2004 06:35 AM
It's almost impossible for the human mind to comprehend such a tragedy.
I don't even know if prayers could do such a horrible event justice.
posted by Larry Chaffin on December 30, 2004 06:39 AM
I used to live in thailand, and know phuket and patong beach very well. It
was the party street along the beach in phuket, and it was amazing. Seeing
this footage is horrific. I only wish i could be there now to help these
people.
Thanks for posting these, we only see parts of this through other media,
Dimitri
posted by Dimitri on December 30, 2004 06:56 AM
TERRORIFICO ESPELUZNANTE
EEUU TU PODER SIRVE DE ALGO O SOLO VAS A MIRAR COMO LOS DEMAS AYUDAN Y
DESPUES DICEN QUE LO DEL 11 DE SEPT FUE UNA TRAGEDIA PARA LA HUMANIDAD
BUSH PUDISTE AVISARLES ALGO Y COMO SIEMPRE LOS DEJASTES SOLOS
dIOS NO TE OLVIDES DE LOS QUE AUN TIENEN VIDA RECONSTRUYAN ESA SITUACION YA
NO ES SOLO MANDAR COLCHONES POLITICOS ACTUEN ENSERIO.
posted by DANIEL on December 30, 2004 06:57 AM
TERRORIFICO ESPELUZNANTE
EEUU TU PODER SIRVE DE ALGO O SOLO VAS A MIRAR COMO LOS DEMAS AYUDAN Y
DESPUES DICEN QUE LO DEL 11 DE SEPT FUE UNA TRAGEDIA PARA LA HUMANIDAD
BUSH PUDISTE AVISARLES ALGO Y COMO SIEMPRE LOS DEJASTES SOLOS
dIOS NO TE OLVIDES DE LOS QUE AUN TIENEN VIDA RECONSTRUYAN ESA SITUACION YA
NO ES SOLO MANDAR COLCHONES POLITICOS ACTUEN ENSERIO.
posted by DANIEL on December 30, 2004 06:57 AM
TERRORIFICO ESPELUZNANTE
EEUU TU PODER SIRVE DE ALGO O SOLO VAS A MIRAR COMO LOS DEMAS AYUDAN Y
DESPUES DICEN QUE LO DEL 11 DE SEPT FUE UNA TRAGEDIA PARA LA HUMANIDAD
BUSH PUDISTE AVISARLES ALGO Y COMO SIEMPRE LOS DEJASTES SOLOS
dIOS NO TE OLVIDES DE LOS QUE AUN TIENEN VIDA RECONSTRUYAN ESA SITUACION YA
NO ES SOLO MANDAR COLCHONES POLITICOS ACTUEN ENSERIO.
posted by DANIEL on December 30, 2004 06:57 AM
No comprendo much espanol, es possible en ingles. Pienso que no hay muchas
personas aqui que pueden comprender espanol. Gracias amigo,
Dimitri
posted by Dimitri on December 30, 2004 07:02 AM
My god, this is the worst tragedy ever happened to mankind since. My
condolences to all who have faced this unexpected disaster and perished,
especially those children. Imagine you are there, not knowing it was a
Tsunami....
posted by James on December 30, 2004 07:28 AM
These videos are something special. While is it a little grotesque to watch
just horrifying things on tape, it helps to give an understanding of just
what has happened. It is easy to say what happened is a disaster, but few
people have any idea what actually happend. If you want to know, first
hand, a little bit more about what happened, these clips are a way to bring
you closer to the disaster, and in fact may make some more "simpathetic" to
the disaster.
thanks for the post...
posted by Bert on December 30, 2004 07:29 AM
Wyrazy wspolczuczia dla rodzin, ktorzy stracili swoich bliskich.
posted by Arek on December 30, 2004 07:41 AM
Oh, I forgot to mention: In the one video it shows a couple swept away
while trying to hold on to the railing. It's been reported that the man is
alright, but his wife is still missing.
posted by Katie on December 30, 2004 07:46 AM
We watch as the earth kicks the poorest nations, and wonder what is going
on. Now we may see the start of worldwide co-operation? World War Four?
Keep living, and be aware of how lucky you are is all I can say.
posted by Donald on December 30, 2004 07:48 AM
People lighten up on the BS like, the media is not covering it enough, or
the US and the west is not contributing enough, or it is being turned into
a political situation.
I heard about it sunday afternoon on MSNBC's web site and have been seeing
updates as the news comes in. Are aid contributions supposed to be a
competion, "Lets see who can give the most winner gets braging rights!"?
When you say this you turn it into a politcal situation.
Kevin
posted by kevin on December 30, 2004 07:49 AM
To the few on this posting that say they are embarrased to be an American.
Feel free to use your freedom to move your a*s out of here!
It's okay to be against the war in Iraq
It's okay to be against what this current administration is doing abroad or
at home.
It's a free right you have to do so without being shot or whisked away like
in so many other countries if you were to spout off like this in some
foreign nations.
Feel blessed that you live in a country that if you were on the coast here
and a tsunami was coming, we have early warning systems to save
"ungratefuls" like some of you. And before some of you accuse me of saying
being an American is better, that's not what I'm implying, but you
certainly are blessed to have the freedom to speak, travel and act as you
do.
The U.S. will give much more than the original 37 million. Being an
American, you make enough to reach in your pockets and help make a donation
too. The majority of citizens in the world don't even have that luxury.
Let's get the focus back on helping and sympathizing with the victims of
this terrible tragedy, no matter what nation they're a citizen of...
posted by KD on December 30, 2004 08:05 AM
TORRENTS NOW AVAILABLE
I've started creating torrents for most of those videos which i got from
other sources too, courtesy of prodigem
Each torrent contains 4 to 5 different videos.
posted by Chris Holland on December 30, 2004 08:09 AM
Shawn says, "Drover, try reading what's in the posts. I was pointing out to
someone that implied america was the biggest donner. It is irrelivent how
much they give, the point was get your facts strait before you type!"
Well Shawn, I wasn't actually talking to you (unless you were the anonymous
Thai poster whose post has since been removed). But I'll respond to your
basic premise anyway.
You're right. It is irrelevent how much Americans give, either as a
proportion of total worldwide contribution, a proportion of GDP, or in
overall dollars, or by whatever yardstick the wannabe academians want to
use. (But said irrelevence hasn't stopped you from sweating the details
anyway.) My point is that Americans shouldn't have to be put in a position
to defend how much we donate. Even before we were finished assessing how
much aid to supply, and while phone banks at the Red Cross and other
charities were ringing off the hook with people eager to send checks, we
stood accused by international bureaucrats, on record, of being stingy.
That sentiment was then echoed around the world by armchair wealth
redistributionists (such as those found here) who always have a big heart
with other people's money. It seems to happen time and again -- no matter
how much aid we supply, there's someone there to thank us with a middle
finger because we're not giving enough.
Most Americans give because we want to and because we can, not because
we're looking for recognition or because we feel like we're in some sort of
international bragging rights contest. But there are some of us who have
grown tired of defending how much we give even while we're in the middle of
opening our wallets.
You can complain about my "G.I. Joe" attitude -- whatever that means -- all
day for all I care. My attitude is made possible by the jaw-dropping
ingratitude of people like yourself who nitpick the details of how much
Ameicans give even as our resources are streaming in to help your
countrymen. A simple "thanks" would have gone a lot further.
posted by Drover on December 30, 2004 08:09 AM
It's times like these that raises one question where has Humanity gone?
People I am but a simple person with little needs in life but to hopefully
one day raise beautiful children therby contributing to the survival of our
species. Now I ask of you is this necessary, we are one people... because
we breath the same air drink the same water, love, hate, laugh, cry and
most of all feel. Bottom line is we live on one Earth does not matter who
donated what when and why, we live on one Earth and it's time we take an
active stand start working together and build a global community. It was
just a chance that we were born where we were, hell I could be writing from
England, US, Mexico at this point it does not matter. To live is to Love,
simple philosophy.
posted by BMed75 on December 30, 2004 08:23 AM
What's wrong with the Koh_Lanta_Thailand clip? I got the audio but the
video was just a bunch of psychadelic junk
posted by Doug on December 30, 2004 08:36 AM
Thank you for making these available. After all, we learn in scenarios.
NEver again shall somebody watch the retreating waters and just think "wow,
that's odd". We all have to learn from this.
What a tragedy. THanks to all who contribute. And remember: a donation
really only counts if it hurts your wallet. For some people the pain
threshold is $5, for others it is at $500. Anyway, give what you can.
And folks, please stop playing your little political ego games. Around
100.000 people have died, more are dying, 5 Million are in acute danger.
I hope you're dry and safe...
Tom (remove the DEV NULL from my mail address)
--
may all beings find peace
posted by Bonobo on December 30, 2004 08:38 AM
Oh God, It's breathtaking, what can you do seriously, two people one metre
away are gonna die, to move in towards them would have been suicide, I hate
to feel helpless as does everyone else. The Ocean scares the Sh@t out of me
already, now I've seen this I think I might have to move inland.
PS I'm Australian, Bob Geldof I still owe a smack in the nose for Michael
Hutchence.
Come and Visit us soon.
posted by Dan1al on December 30, 2004 08:42 AM
I dunno Doug, maybe you don't have the necessary codec. I couldn't view it
either but the other videos were plenty.
After watching the videos I can understand why this thing took so many
people by surprise. It wasn't 50-foot waves that came roaring in and
crashing down on top of people and buildings and what-not. They came
rolling in rather gently considering the damge they did. And they kept
rolling in and kept rolling in and kept rolling.... notice how the water
just keeps creeping higher and higher, rather than just all crashing in at
once. No wonder people didn't take it seriously at first. Just amazing.
posted by Drover on December 30, 2004 08:49 AM
Well I'm certainly not surprised that someone managed to slip in the "Blame
Bush" angle. I'm only surprised it took a full day.
As for the videos, they have done much to heighten my understanding of what
happened, why the initial reactions were inadequate and why so many people
lost their lives. It's chilling to know that a lot of the people you see in
those videos are now dead because they vastly underestimated the force of
nature as it roared to shore. And now I can say that I might very well have
done the same thing if I were there and I'd be dead too.
posted by The Enemy on December 30, 2004 08:57 AM
Thanks for these links. It's a little bit cold, almost bizarre to watch
these videos showing death, despair and so much loss, but I agree with the
one who said that these videos bring us closer to those who lost their
lives and others who lost almost everything.
Let it remember us of how many lucky we are. Let's share this luck with
'em: contribute to any of these organizations.
http://www.cnn.com/2004/WORLD/asiapcf/12/28/tsunami.aidsites/
Doesn't matter if countries are helping or not [or if they're givin' away a
lot or not], any contribution from us will help for sure. Remember, your
five bucks can buy some water [for a example], priceless at this moment.
[and sorry for my awful english...]
posted by Ronaldo on December 30, 2004 08:59 AM
Thanks for these. Unbelievable horror. Glad to see it rather than the same
old canned images on the news.
posted by Lou on December 30, 2004 09:14 AM
I've always felt very lucky. The country I come from--Panama, look it up in
a map--is nowhere near a major tectonic plate, and only recently have we
seen our share of natural disasters, like floods this year in a scale which
we haven't experienced before. Seems to me that the world in its constant
change is reminding us how small we really are. This videos can only hint
at the magnitude of the tragedy, which at last count has claimed 114,000
lives and that number is expected to raise in the next days...It's so sad.
I used to think what it would be like, you know, a tsunami in modern times,
it's horrible...May God rest theirs souls...
posted by <http://none/> Juan on December 30, 2004 09:15 AM
What I find so chilling is that it's all happening on a gorgeous, sunny
day. When there's a hurricane or something, it gets stormy, you have the
idea "Maybe I should go for higher ground", etc. But here, they're all just
standing around on a beautiful beach with no idea that anything could be
coming, and then suddenly waves start rolling in. They don't look that big,
and then next thing you know they've flooded where you're standing.
I'm not surprised that the people taping hung around until the last minute,
not believing they could get affected. Even on the Titanic, many passengers
refused to leave the "safety" of the giant, lighted ship for those tiny
lifeboats on the dark, open ocean. Then by the time they realized the ship
really was sinking, it was too late for many. It's hard to have perspective
on dangerous situations when you're stuck in the middle of them.
posted by ws on December 30, 2004 09:16 AM
What's amazing is this just doesn't look all that destructive..not like
I've always pictured a tidal wave..20 or 30 feet tall crashing down. But
I've spent many hours of my life surfing and the power of water is just
staggering, especially millions of tons of it. I guess people just got
swept away, trapped in buildings, knocked out by debris, and drowned. It is
beyond comprehension.
posted by Bert on December 30, 2004 09:21 AM
Thank you very much ! This is really unbelievable. Does anyone know if the
2 persons that are disappearing in the phuket video are still alive?
posted by Fred on December 30, 2004 09:37 AM
Does anyone have any information on the surrival of the people who shot
these videos? I hope that they got away and are safe.
posted by Kitty on December 30, 2004 09:48 AM
I pray for the killed children who never come back an their parents who
will never be happy again. I pray for those who survived and those who have
not.
posted by Robert on December 30, 2004 09:50 AM
Hey There Fred
Someone Said earlier the man made it but the wife was not found yet. The
poor guy who tried to help them. I'm gonna carry rope with me from now on.
God help them all!
posted by Dan1al on December 30, 2004 09:51 AM
Those are something else. :[
It's so sad to see those 2 men getting carried away in that one clip.
BTW, these clips are also being hosted
<http://www.arizonahorizon.com/forum> over here. Just thought I'd give ya
the heads up so you can ease on your bandwidth.
posted by tristan on December 30, 2004 10:09 AM
Wow! The footage is incredibly horrific and unreal. I lived in Hawaii and
have seen and experienced the power of big waves. However, the shear volume
of water behind these waves is just unimaginable. It’s apocalyptic.
posted by Kevin on December 30, 2004 10:14 AM
Juan - Actually Panama is still situated on the "Pacific Rim of Fire". It
is as susceptible to tsunamis as any other Pacific Rim location. See map:
Pacific Rim
I saw an earlier post about California being safe. This is also not true.
Another thing to keep in mind is the vast distance these waves can travel.
Even if the earthquake did not originate near you, the effects of the
tsunami can still be devastating.
posted by Brian on December 30, 2004 10:21 AM
And the number is now over 114,000. :(
And still, all I can say is Damn! I just wish there was something I could
do. Not just donate money, altho that is what is needed, but more.
Damn.
posted by Angie on December 30, 2004 10:36 AM
The death toll will climb to over 200,000 and possibly 300,000 in the next
few weeks. The search for bodies may never be over, due to the crocs and
sharks that may dispose of bodies yet unrecovered. This compounded with the
secondary diseases of cholera and other water borne diseases that will
spread. I will be helping with the recovery effort in 2 weeks. I feel so
sad for this part of the world...
posted by Franky on December 30, 2004 10:54 AM
How did so many camcorders survive this flooding? That amazes me. If I'd
been standing there taking footage and then realized the it was a surge
that seemed to have no cap to it, I'd have turned to run, placing the
camcorder on a bed or table as I fled. It's amazing some of these people
had the presence of mind to grasp what was happening and that their
camcorders would allow the outside world to know what had happened. Still,
amazing the camcorders didn't end up in the drink in the process of the
quick.
Are there any "before" pictures of these areas captured in the videos? It's
one thing to see an aftermath, but I think it helps you really grasp its
magnitude when you see what was really there before.
posted by Karen on December 30, 2004 11:00 AM
As bad as it is, I think we dodged the big bullet. The islands north
northwest of the epicenter took the brunt of the wave heading that way, and
protected Bangladesh. Bangladesh has a population of 140 million, Its land
is mostly between 12 feet below sea level and 10 feet above sea level. If
it had hit Bangladesh with the strength it hit the rest of the Indian Ocean
basin, we would be talking about deaths in the millions to tens of millions
right now. As little consolation as that might be. If the quake had hit
another 100 miles further out to sea, the headlines would read 10 milllion
dead, not the 120,000 we find now. In the vastness of grief, thank God for
small miracles. Weep for the dead. Help the living. May we find in our
collective grief and helpfulness, a better way to work together in the
future.
posted by Harmon on December 30, 2004 11:06 AM
I would like to give all my sympathy and condolences to anyone effected by
these horrific tsunamis. I can't even begin to comprehend what all of those
people are going through.
posted by cat on December 30, 2004 11:59 AM
I feel almost ashamed of myself for my curiosity in watching this distaster
but I thank you for posting these videos, I've watched them all will
absolute shock and amazement, my thoughts and prayers obviously to the
victims and the survivors alike.
Astonishing.
posted by Rick on December 30, 2004 12:02 PM
Thanks for participating in the discussion. Comments have been closed.
Please consider assisting with the tsunami relief efforts.
posted by <http://waxy.org/> Andy Baio on December 30, 2004 12:04 PM
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