Giant Tidal Wave in Thailand.....

http://www.turkishpress.com/world/ne...8.eimrlc5x.xml

Anyone knows how the situation is at Phuket, Kao Lak & Similan Island?

On Sun, 26 Dec 2004 21:14:12 +0800, "KT" <kt_91488044@yahoo.com.hk>
wrote:

>http://www.turkishpress.com/world/ne...8.eimrlc5x.xml
>
>Anyone knows how the situation is at Phuket, Kao Lak & Similan Island?

Phuket is in a bad situation - BBC reporting a local tourist official
believes many foreigners are missing, feared dead. No info on the rest
as yet.

An 8.9 is one hell of a quake.

Mike (geologist)
--
http://www.corestore.org
"All I know is that I'm being sued for unfair business practices by Microsoft. Hello pot? It's kettle on line two" -
Michael Robertson

Mike Ross wrote:
> On Sun, 26 Dec 2004 21:14:12 +0800, "KT" <kt_91488044@yahoo.com.hk>
> wrote:
>
>
>>http://www.turkishpress.com/world/ne...8.eimrlc5x.xml
>>
>>Anyone knows how the situation is at Phuket, Kao Lak & Similan Island?
>
>
> Phuket is in a bad situation - BBC reporting a local tourist official
> believes many foreigners are missing, feared dead. No info on the rest
> as yet.
>
> An 8.9 is one hell of a quake.
>
> Mike (geologist)

Patong looks unrecognisable. Many people missing. Hopefully many
divers are ok but out of range, the Similans are a fair way offshore but
this is peak season so the expectations here are not good. I live in
Singapore, a lot of people from around here dive up there in the local
off season (East coast peninsular Malaysia) - that is now. There will
be a huge number of LOB out at sea NW of phuket right now. Was just
there a month ago myself. This is looking incredibly sad...

Mike Ross wrote:
> On Sun, 26 Dec 2004 21:14:12 +0800, "KT" <kt_91488044@yahoo.com.hk>
> wrote:
>
>
>>http://www.turkishpress.com/world/ne...8.eimrlc5x.xml
>>
>>Anyone knows how the situation is at Phuket, Kao Lak & Similan Island?
>
>
> Phuket is in a bad situation - BBC reporting a local tourist official
> believes many foreigners are missing, feared dead. No info on the rest
> as yet.
>
> An 8.9 is one hell of a quake.
>
> Mike (geologist)

Was Greg ging to that part of the world?

Yes. Saw from the news in HK that the destruction in Phuket (Sri Lanka,
Maldives & Malaysia) is huge. However nothing is mentioned about situation
in Similan Island. Given this is the Christmas holiday and dive season in
Thailand. There could be many divers in the water when this the tsunamis
hit Phuket....

Sounds like there could be other smaller scale earthquake after big ones....
How long (you guess) will these small ones finish?

KT

"Mike Ross" <mike@corestore.org> ???
news:1104068864.3de12e971c4aaea4f398fb4e627b6df8@t eranews ???...
> On Sun, 26 Dec 2004 21:14:12 +0800, "KT" <kt_91488044@yahoo.com.hk>
> wrote:
>
> >http://www.turkishpress.com/world/ne...8.eimrlc5x.xml
> >
> >Anyone knows how the situation is at Phuket, Kao Lak & Similan Island?
>
> Phuket is in a bad situation - BBC reporting a local tourist official
> believes many foreigners are missing, feared dead. No info on the rest
> as yet.
>
> An 8.9 is one hell of a quake.
>
> Mike (geologist)
> --
> http://www.corestore.org
> "All I know is that I'm being sued for unfair business practices by
Microsoft. Hello pot? It's kettle on line two" -
> Michael Robertson

the BBC World reported that 40 scuba divers were stranded off the West coast
of Malaysia. They're probably lucky to be alive.

No report yet on the Maldives, which, as we know, lie flat on the water. Sri
Lanke also badly hit, not to mention the Coramandel coast off India where
thousands were swept out to sea in a giant tidal wave.

According to reports, the quake hit out in the middle of the Andaman Sea in a
subduction zone. I know that I've dived many times in Vanuatu where there
are frequent quakes and that is also a "subduction zone" where the Earth is
swallowed under or beneath an adjoining plate. Usually, the quakes lie so
deep beneath the Earth's crust that they don't do a lot of damage. So...one
might assume that NOT all quakes that occur in a subduction zone are to be
feared. This one really packed a whallop! I wonder how deep in the Earth's
crust it was?

Simon wrote:

> Mike Ross wrote:
> > On Sun, 26 Dec 2004 21:14:12 +0800, "KT" <kt_91488044@yahoo.com.hk>
> > wrote:
> >
> >
> >>http://www.turkishpress.com/world/ne...8.eimrlc5x.xml
> >>
> >>Anyone knows how the situation is at Phuket, Kao Lak & Similan Island?
> >
> >
> > Phuket is in a bad situation - BBC reporting a local tourist official
> > believes many foreigners are missing, feared dead. No info on the rest
> > as yet.
> >
> > An 8.9 is one hell of a quake.
> >
> > Mike (geologist)
>
> Patong looks unrecognisable. Many people missing. Hopefully many
> divers are ok but out of range, the Similans are a fair way offshore but
> this is peak season so the expectations here are not good. I live in
> Singapore, a lot of people from around here dive up there in the local
> off season (East coast peninsular Malaysia) - that is now. There will
> be a huge number of LOB out at sea NW of phuket right now. Was just
> there a month ago myself. This is looking incredibly sad...

On Sun, 26 Dec 2004 14:25:07 GMT, Daniel Kessler
<dkessler@pop.cybernex.net> wrote:


>According to reports, the quake hit out in the middle of the Andaman Sea in a
>subduction zone. I know that I've dived many times in Vanuatu where there
>are frequent quakes and that is also a "subduction zone" where the Earth is
>swallowed under or beneath an adjoining plate. Usually, the quakes lie so
>deep beneath the Earth's crust that they don't do a lot of damage. So...one
>might assume that NOT all quakes that occur in a subduction zone are to be
>feared. This one really packed a whallop! I wonder how deep in the Earth's
>crust it was?

USGS plots the hypocentre at 6.2 miles - fairly shallow.

Mike
--
http://www.corestore.org
"All I know is that I'm being sued for unfair business practices by Microsoft. Hello pot? It's kettle on line two" -
Michael Robertson

Some quotes from the press:

"At least 289 were confirmed dead in Thailand, 42 in Malaysia and 2 in
Bangladesh."

"The huge waves struck around breakfast time on the beaches of Thailand's
beach resorts - probably Asia's most popular holiday destination at this
time of year, particularly for Europeans fleeing the winter cold - wiping
out bungalows, boats and cars, sweeping away sunbathers and snorkelers,
witnesses said.
"Initially we just heard a bang, a really loud bang," Gerrard Donnelly of
Britain, a guest at Phuket island's Holiday Inn, told Britain's Sky News.
"We initially thought it was a terrorist attack, then the wave came and we
just kept running upstairs to get on as high ground as we could."

"People that were snorkeling were dragged along the coral and washed up on
the beach, and people that were sunbathing got washed into the sea," said
Simon Clark, 29, a photographer from London vacationing on Ngai island."

"On Phuket, Somboon Wangnaitham, deputy director of the Wachira Hospital,
said one of the worst hit areas was the populous Patong beach, where at
least 32 people died and 500 were injured."

Another survivor on Phuket was Natalia Moyano, 22, of Sydney, Australia, who
was being treated for torn ligaments.

"The water kept rising. It was very slow at first, then all of a sudden, it
went right up," Moyano said. "At first I didn't think there was any danger,
but when I realized the water kept rising so quickly, I tried to jump over a
fence, but it broke."

"On Phi Phi island - where "The Beach" starring Leonardo DiCaprio was
filmed - 200 bungalows at two resorts were swept out to sea.

"I am afraid that there will be a high figure of foreigners missing in the
sea and also my staff," said Chan Marongtaechar, owner of the PP Princess
Resort and PP Charlie Beach Resort. "

"BANGKOK (AFP) - Huge tidal waves struck southern Thailand's popular resort
island of Phuket, sweeping at least four foreign tourists out to sea,
sinking boats and forcing the evacuation of hotels, officials said on state
radio.

"As of now there are four foreign tourists missing and we are conducting a
search," deputy Phuket governor Pongpao Ketthong said."

"Dec. 26 (Bloomberg) -- Thai Airways International Pcl, the country's
biggest carrier, resumed flying to the resort of Phuket, where at least 118
people have died after an earthquake in Indonesian unleashed tidal waves,
following a six-hour suspension. About 168 people were killed in southern
Thailand and surrounding areas, including Phi Phi island, Agence
France-Presse reported, citing officials. At least 100 people taking diving
holidays off Thailand were feared dead, the BBC said. "

"The U.S. Embassy in Bangkok did not have an estimate for the number of
American tourists in Thailand, or for those killed or injured Sunday.
"That's something the embassy is trying to track, but lots and lots of
people are missing, and people who were killed were on the beach in
swimsuits and didn't have ID on them," an embassy spokeswoman said on
condition of anonymity."

"Joe English" wrote ...
> Was Greg ging to that part of the world?

Are you implying that it wasn't a tidal wave, it was just Greg falling into
the ocean? <evil-grin>

Now believe possible (but not sure) on MV Catch Up also known as MV Amarpon