Tsunami Pictures (most recent)

Yahoo Photos ^ | 1/2/05 | numerous

[stlnative]

Survivors huddle in clearings without food or shelter above the water-damage line all along the tsunami-ravaged coast of Indonesia's Aceh province, and corpses float miles out to sea. A week after giant waves swamped parts of the provincial capital, Banda Aceh, on the northern tip of Sumatra island, the water is only just beginning to drain off to reveal the full extent of the horrific destruction and yet more bodies to count. This photo shows an aerial view of Meulaboh town on January 1, 2005, following recent quake-triggered tidal waves. (Stringer/Indonesia/Reuters)

An aerial view of the countryside south of Banda Aceh, Sumatra on January 1, 2005. HS-2, embarked aboard USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN 72) is transporting supplies, bringing in disaster relief teams and supporting humanitarian airlifts to Tsunami-stricken coastal regions. The Abraham Lincoln Carrier Strike Group is currently operating in the Indian Ocean off the waters of Indonesia and Thailand. Picture taken January 1, 2005. (U.S. Navy (news - web sites)/Patrick M. Bonafede via Reuters - Handout)

A young Indian tsunami victim cries while his mother shouts to make her way to reach the back of a truck from where relief goods are being distributed at an aid center in Cuddalore, some 185 kms of Madras.(AFP/Emmanuel Dunand)

Relatives of tsunami victims look at a board where photographs of missing people are displayed at Phuket Town on the Thai holiday island of Phuket.(AFP/DDP/Johannes Simon)

A Indian woman tries to salvage palm leave matts from the ruins of her house, in the tsunami-devastated Karaikalmede fishing village, some 325 kms south of Madras.(AFP/Sebastian D'Souza)

A sign above the scoreboard at the Sydney Cricket Ground shows the progress of a fundraising appeal for tsunami victims during the third Pakistan versus Australia cricket test January 3, 2005. The appeal's goal to raise A$100,000 ($78,000) over the five days of the test got a healthy start after organisers indicated about A$73,000 ($57,000) was raised on the first day. REUTERS/Tim Wimborne

Thai and international volunteers are cleansed near corpses of tsunami victims, covered with dry ice, at a makeshift morgue in a temple at Khao Lak, Thailand, January 2, 2005. Starving people besieged helicopters carrying the first aid to remote Indonesian towns on Sunday as frustration grew at the slowness of help a week after tsunamis devastated Indian Ocean coastlines. REUTERS

Indonesian refugees gather under an approaching helicopter to receive food and supplies, on January 1, 2005. Starving people besieged helicopters carrying the first aid to remote Indonesian towns on January 2, 2005 as frustration grew at the slowness of help a week after tsunamis devastated Indian Ocean coastlines. The United Nations (news - web sites) said 1.8 million victims needed food -- but that it could be two more weeks before some communities were reached, giving dehydration, disease and hunger time to add to a disaster that has claimed at least 129,817 lives. Photo by Reuters (Handout)

An Acehnese girl eats while staying at a makeshift refugee camp in Banda Aceh, on the northern part of the Indonesian island of Sumatra on January 2, 2005. A week after being swamped by a massive tsunami, water is only just beginning to drain off parts of Aceh's provincial capital, revealing the full extent of the horrific destruction, and yet more bodies to count. (Kim Kyung-Hoon/Reuters)

A village near the coast of Sumatra lays in ruin after the tsunami swept through and devastated the area, in Indonesia January 2, 2005. Helicopters assigned to CVW-2 and Sailors from Abraham Lincoln are conducting humanitarian operations in the wake of the tsunami that struck South East Asia. U.S. and Indonesian military helicopters were swarmed by starving villagers as flight crews threw out boxes of bottled water and food. A week after giant waves swamped parts of Indonesia the water is only just beginning to drain away to reveal the full extent of the horrific destruction and yet more bodies to count. (Reuters - Handout)

The ruins : An Indian tsunami victim, who lost her 12-year old son in the natural disaster, cries over the ruins of her house in front of a year-old goodwill message painted on a survivng wall at a fishing village in Cuddalore, some 185kms south of Madras. (AFP/Emmanuel Dunand)

[stlnative]

Will post more pictures as I get through them!

[KMC1]

Thanks for posting these - this is awefully tough stuff to deal with...
win Autographed Copy of Hugh Hewitt's Best Seller

[Billthedrill]

BTT. Thank God for the "evil" military - in two weeks the UN will be feeding corpses.

[Ciexyz]

Good Lord, hopefully those area won't have to wait two more weeks to get food shipments!

And it's sobering to remember that as the water drains off the land, more bodies are exposed.

[deport]

A week after giant waves swamped parts of Indonesia the water is only just beginning to drain away to reveal the full extent of the horrific destruction and yet more bodies to count. (Reuters - Handout)

---

What is holding the water inland?.... The ocean hasn't risen and stayed that high has it?

How far inland has the waves/water actually penetrated?...

[tutstar]

poing

[Strategerist]

A lot of the coastal land on Sumatra probably has actually sunk several feet.

That's how the old tsunamis in Washington and Oregon were found; forests where the trees had been killed by saltwater 300 years ago.

[isthisnickcool]

Miles.

[diamond6]

May I ask a question? How far did these tidal waves go inland?

[diamond6]

Oh! Never mind, someone else already answered my question.

[RepublicanReptile]

PING

[Chode]

i'm pretty sure it's a volcanic island, there is solid rock under the sand, how far down i'm not sure, but it will take a while for what water isn't evaporated off to travel down and out to the ocean if it even can get there

[WIladyconservative]

You guys are the best at answering questions like the one I'm about to ask (can't think of anywhere else better to ask it).

Do you think there might be satellite images of the actual birth of the tsunamis? What would it look like? If the sea floor dropped 6 meters (or was it feet?) would there be a corresponding reaction on the ocean surface and could that have been caught by sattelites?

[Theresawithanh]

Thanks for posting these. It's sobering to realize that the full extent of the damage will come when the waters all recede.

[stlnative]

American Navy flight crewsmen and medical personals carry an injured evacuee from Sampo, Aceh province for further treatment in Banda Aceh, the capital of Aceh province in northwestern Indonesia Sunday Jan. 2, 2005. The US has conducted its largest relief operation since Vietnam war following the earthquake-triggered Tsunami last week that killed more than 80,000 people in Indonesia alone and soared to 150,000 across Asia and Africa. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko)


Sangeeta, a mother of three boys, looks down on her eldest son, Dinakaran, seated, and the dog that saved his life, Selvakumar Sunday, Jan. 2, 2005. Sangeeta could only carry two of her boys and had to leave Dinakaran to fend for himself when a tsunami crashed into their village on Dec. 26, 2004. Selvakumar pulled Dinakaran out of the family hut and nipped and nudged him up a hill to safety. (AP Photo/Chris Tomlinson )


Twisted tracks : A man walks across railway tracks, twisted by the force of the tidal waves near the village of Kalamulla , 40 km from Colombo, southwestern Sri Lanka. (AFP/Tatyana Makeyeva)


Relief workers unload crates of bottled water at the Car Nicobar airbase on January 2, 2005. The United States may eventually spend billions of dollars to help Asia recover from last week's devastating tsunami, a leading Republican U.S. senator said as the Bush administration battled criticism it had been slow to respond. The $350 million in aid pledged so far by President Bush (news - web sites) represents the entire U.S. foreign disaster assistance budget, and Congress will work to pass emergency legislation to go 'well beyond' that figure, said U.S. Sen. Richard Lugar (news, bio, voting record), an Indiana Republican and head of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. Photo by Altaf Hussain/Reuters


Smallest victims : A young Indian tsunami victim sits at a relief shelter after her family's home was swept away by tidal waves in Cuddalore, some 185kms south of Madras. (AFP/Emmanuel Dunand)


A Sri Lankan man walks around the upstairs of his wrecked house after visiting his village for the first time since it was smashed by last week's massive tsunami Sunday Jan. 2, 2005 in Mulaitivu in the rebel controlled North of Sri lanka. A few dozen villagers returned to their homes to inspect the damage and to try to find important papers and sentimental items like photos.(AP Photo/Ed Wray)


Christian Nicobarese tribals in India's tsunami hit remote Andaman and Nicobar archipelago participate in a special mass at a relief camp in Car Nicobar January 2, 2005. India raised the number of people killed or feared killed in last week's tsunami to 14,488 on Sunday, up by more than 1,700 since the previous evening's estimate. REUTERS/Altaf Hussain


An aerial view of the eroded shore line at Hut Bay on the Little Andaman island in India's tsunami hit remote Andaman and Nicobar archipelago, January 2, 2005. India raised the number of people killed or feared killed in last week's tsunami to 14,488 on Sunday, up by more than 1,700 since the previous evening's estimate. REUTERS/Altaf Hussain

[Blood of Tyrants]

Not to be picky or to lessen their plight, but while the people are no doubt hungry, they are a long way from starvation. The more immediate concern is to get them medicine and clean water.

[TAquinas]

A couple of hundred yards.

[GVnana]

The United States Military always saves more lives than it takes.

[isthisnickcool]

There can also be a loss of coastline. Instantly. The force of the water coming in strips the soil away coming inbound then carries it away as it goes out. The same kind of thing happens when a hurricane hits our Texas coast. But nothing like this. The scale of what happened and the force it brought is almost impossible to imagine.

[hophead]

"Do you think there might be satellite images of the actual birth of the tsunamis?"

From what I have read, these type of waves cannot be seen in open ocean. Only when they reach shallower water do they show up.

[BenLurkin]

God bless the men and women of the U.S. armed forces.

[stlnative]

Aviation Anti-submarine Warfare Operator 2nd Class Timothy Sullivan, assigned to Helicopter Anti-Submarine Squadron Two (HS-2) 'Golden Falcons,' drops food and milk to waiting refugees displaced by the December 26, 2004 tsunami, January 1, 2005 in Sumatra. The helicopter was unable to land because of the extensive flooding that still exists in the region. HS-2, embarked aboard USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN 72) is transporting supplies, bringing in disaster relief teams and supporting humanitarian airlifts to tsunami-stricken coastal regions. The Abraham Lincoln Carrier Strike Group is currently operating in the Indian Ocean off the waters of Indonesia and Thailand. Picture taken January 1, 2005. REUTERS/U.S. Photo by Reuters (Handout)


A C-17 cargo jet. Having rustled up more than 100 million pounds (141 million euros, 192 million dollars) in funds, Britain said that it was ready to lend some extra military muscle to the tsunami relief effort in Asia.(AFP/File /Rick Loomis )


An aerial view of the devastation surrounding the city of Banda Aceh as seen from an SH-60F assigned to the 'Golden Falcons' of Helicopter Anti-Submarine Squadron Two (HS-2), in Indonesia January 2, 2005. The helicopter embarked aboard USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN 72), while transporting supplies and disaster relief teams and humanitarian airlifts to Tsunami-stricken coastal regions.


US Navy soldiers load food and water into Seahawk helicopter as part of relief aid for refugees to a damaged village of Teunom, near Meulabo, 170 km southwest from Banda Aceh, in Aceh province, Indonesia, seven days after a quake-triggered tsunami hit southeastern Asia. An unprecedented global aid operation gathered steam to save survivors of Asia's tsunamis as signs crept up of disease in the overflowing morgues after the disaster that claimed more than 127,000 lives.(AFP/Choo Youn-Kong)

[stlnative]

On Nicobar they went in at least 4.5 miles. It just depends if there are strong enough structures to slow the flow of the water down or not. Many places did not have strong structures, mostly huts and wood buildings. Also areas closer to the epicenter got hit the hardest thus wiping out full islands.

[stlnative]

I saw this story on the News...amazing that he lived!


An Achenese fisherman identified as Tengku Sofyan lies in the hospital in Banda Aceh after he was found trapped under his boat and severely dehydrated on Sunday, Jan. 2, 2005, a week after a devastating earthquake and tsunami. Sofyan, 24, was rushed to a hospital in Banda Aceh where doctors gave him intravenous fluids. He could barely speak and had cuts on his body. (AP Photo/Binsar Bakkara)

[maine-iac7]

On Nicobar they went in at least 4.5 miles.

also, try to imagine that wall of water hitting at 500-600 miles per hour!

If you fly into what looks like a small, fluffy "soft" cloud, it's like hitting a brick wall - This is water racing at hundreds of miles per hour...not much can withstand such a force...and then it drags everything back to the sea...hell on earth

[srm913]

The most frightening thing about tsunamis is their ability to travel at high speed over thousands of miles of open ocean before they suddenly rear up and crash into the shore. I remember a scientist in Hawaii explaining that a ship floating in the ocean would be completely unaware of an enormous tsunami passing underneath.
Thus, satellite images would show no disturbances above the epicenter.

[Publius6961]

Tsunamis can't travel overland that fast, but it's academic in any case. Even at a mere 60-80 mph, you can't outrun it and it will mow anything in its path over like bowling pins.

[Anitius Severinus Boethius]

Bump for later reading

[x1stcav]

Look closely at the photos. Roads have already been cleared. This was not the case 6 days ago. They're already starting their own repairs.

[Born Conservative]

http://CoreyKoberg.com/Tsunami

[Andrew LB]

My good friends brother is currently flying C-17's in the region to help with the relief. He spent the last two years flying in and out of Iraq and Afghanistan. God bless our men and women in Uniform!

[solitas]

also, try to imagine that wall of water hitting at 500-600 miles per hour!

One was under the impression that the 500-600 figure was the velocity of the underwater surge - and that upon reaching the shallower depths that it slowed-down and piled up.

The speed of sound in air is only about 770 MPH - no water wave could hold-together going 500-600 MPH in air.

[Zuriel]

As storms/waves push dirt/sand/etc. inland, the plantlife filters it out the over centuries creating natural levees that hold water inland. The distance the water can go inland depends on how flat the terrain is.

I live in Illinois, and can show similar results of water entrapment along the Mississippi River where there are no man-made levees. Every flood, the water comes over the banks and the dirt/sand is promply trapped and builds a higher natural levee, trapping more water each time.

[satchmodog9]

Here is a picture the media in this nation will not show for some reason. If they did the donations would double. You may have to search the picture for the enlarge icon to get the real effect.
http://www.321gold.com/mustread/tsunami/rip.jpg


another link for property damage
http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/world/indonesia/aceh-andaman-tsunami-imagery.htm
before and after

[CajunConservative]

Those pics do help to show what it was like. I haven't seen the two top pics where you see the rise of the ocean not really a wave.

[UCANSEE2]

a picture the old media will not show. But the NEW, BETTER media has.

[mysterio]

USA Today ran the picture on Thursday. It was in the middle of the main section, black and white.

[arasina]

Amazing photos. This one is a prizewinner, IMO:

[arasina]

US Navy soldiers

Huh?

Blame it on AFP.

[stlnative]

It is wild... I wonder where the track use to lay? It couldn't have originally been that close to the palm trees where it look straight at the front of the picture.

[shubi]

The wave slows down as it builds height in shallow water.

[Lady In Blue]

Thank you,brigette for this heart wrenching thread! I can't tell but is that dog dead or just resting?

[coloradan]

I don't think so. The India plate went down, and the Burmese plate (on which Sumatra resides) went up. That would tend to make the water recede first for Sumatra and Thailand, and rise first in India and Sri Lanka.

[stlnative]

he is alive

[rwfromkansas]

In any case, you will always have areas that will still have standing water. It doesn't all leave just because the wave goes out.

[coloradan]

500 mph is the deep water surface wave velocity, which slows considerably in shallower water, which is why the waves get taller as they approach the coast. (Wind-generated waves also slow and therefore heighten as they approach shore, which surfers seek.) The sound speed in water is about 2000 mi/hr - 1 km/sec.

[Andrew LB]

I read one of the islands of sumatra moved over 38 meters due to the earthquake. Crazy!

[two23]

Thanks-bump

[GodOfmercy]

How tall was the wave near the earth quake(Meaning how tall was it has it hit the first islands)Which I would think would be much taller. In I would not live on the ocean because this was no mega Tsanami! That would bring 50 million dead.