| ï
----- Original Message -----
From: Peiser, Benny
Sent: Wednesday, December 29, 2004 9:38 AM
Subject: CCNet: SIR ARTHUR C CLARKE AND HIS FAMILY ESCAPE MEGA
TSUNAMI DISASTER Sir Arthur C Clarke [EMAIL PROTECTED] Dear Benny, Thank you for your concern about my safety in the wake of last Sundayâs devastating tidal wave. I am enormously relieved that my family and household have escaped the ravages of the sea that suddenly invaded most parts of coastal Sri Lanka, leaving a trail of destruction. But many others were not so fortunate. For over two million Sri Lankans and a large number of foreign tourists holidaying here, the day after Christmas turned out to be a living nightmare reminiscent of The Day After Tomorrow. My heart-felt sympathy goes out to all those who lost family members or friends. Among those who directly experienced the waves were my staff based at our diving station in Hikkaduwa, and my holiday bungalows in Kahawa and Thiranagama all beachfront properties located in southern areas that were badly hit. Our staff members are all safe, even though some are badly shaken and relate harrowing first hand accounts of what happened. Most of our diving equipment and boats at Hikkaduwa were washed away. We still don't know the full extent of damage -- it will take a while for us to take stock as accessing these areas is still difficult. This is indeed a disaster of unprecedented magnitude for Sri Lanka, which lacks the resources and capacity to cope with the aftermath. We are encouraging concerned friends to contribute to the relief efforts launched by various national and international organisations. If you wish to join these efforts, I can recommend two options. - Contribute to a Sri Lanka disaster relief fund launched by an internationally operating humanitarian charity, such as Care or Oxfam. - Alternatively, considering supporting Sarvodaya, the largest development charity in Sri Lanka, which has a 45-year track record in reaching out and helping the poorest of the poor. Sarvodaya has mounted a well organised, countrywide relief effort using their countrywide network of offices and volunteers who work in all parts of the country, well above ethnic and other divisions. Their website, www.sarvodaya.lk <http://www.sarvodaya.lk/> , provides bank account details for financial donations. They also welcome contributions in kind -- a list of urgently needed items is found at: http://www.sarvodaya.lk/Inside_Page/urgently%20needed.htm There is much to be done in both short and long terms for Sri Lanka to raise its head from this blow from the seas. Among other things, the country needs to improve its technical and communications facilities so that effective early warnings can help minimise losses in future disasters. Curiously enough, in my first book on Sri Lanka, I had written about another tidal wave reaching the Galle harbour (see Chapter 8 in The Reefs of Taprobane, 1957). That happened in August 1883, following the eruption of Krakatoa in roughly the same part of the Indian Ocean. Arthur Clarke 29 December 2004 ------------ ASIAN NATIONS MULL EARLY WARNING SYSTEM The Washington Times, 29 December 2004 http://washingtontimes.com/upi-breaking/20041228-042434-9528r.htm <http://images.washtimes.com/images/clear.gif> Bangkok, Thailand, Dec. 28 (UPI) -- Asian governments are considering developing a system to warn of future tidal waves, Business Times reported Tuesday. Scientists nearest the epicenter of Sunday's earthquake knew the danger of giant tidal surges, but had no way of measuring the size of the danger because a warning network like one used in the Pacific is not installed in the Indian Ocean. The technology might have saved countless lives by giving residents time to flee to higher ground. Officials in Thailand issued the only warnings after the quake, but broadcasts beamed to tourist resorts in the country's south underestimated the threat and a Web site caution was not posted until three hours after the first waves hit, the paper said. U.N. Undersecretary General for Humanitarian Affairs Jan Egeland, who is also the U.N. emergency relief coordinator, was unaware the region didn't have a warning system. He said the World Conference on Disaster Reduction meeting next month in Kobe, Japan, will now consider whether such a system can be designed and whether it is even possible to evacuate such large coastal areas with only a few hours' notice. Several countries in the region, including India, have expressed interest in setting up a warning system. Copyright 2004, The Washington Times ----------- EDITORÂS NOTE: I plan to post some of the reactions to the 2004 MN4 scare in one of the next CCNet issues. In what I regard to be a positive sign that the worldÂs news media have tired of the now almost regular on-off asteroid alerts, the developments of the last few days have been largely ignored by news outlets around the world. LetÂs hope that this apparant cooling of media interest in asteroid scares will prove helpful rather than detrimental in future cases of unusal NEO discoveries where, for a short period of time, astronomers need to be alerted but not the general public. BJP |
