Largest Earthquake & Tidal Waves in 40 years!

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Originally uploaded by dotcompals.

An 8.9 magnitude earthquake occurred today in the early morning hours after Christmas. Tsunami's (popularly known as tidal waves) swept the Pacific Ring of Fire. And thousands were killed.

Tourists, fishermen, homes and cars were swept away by walls of water up to 20 feet high that swept across the Bay of Bengal, unleashed by the 8.9-magnitude earthquake centered off the west coast of the Indonesian island of Sumatra...In Sri Lanka, 1,000 miles west of the epicenter, more than 2,150 people were killed, the prime minister's office said. Indian officials said as many as 1,130 died along the southern coast. At least 408 died on Sumatra from floods and collapsing buildings. Another 168 were confirmed dead in Thailand, 42 in Malaysia and 2 in Bangladesh....But officials expected the death toll to rise dramatically, with hundreds reported missing and all communications cut off to Sumatran towns closest to the epicenter. Hundreds of bodies were found on various beaches along India's southern state of Tamil Nadu, and more were expected to be washed in by the sea, officials said.

This is horrible and amazing. We forget how much power is locked up in this little island in space, and how easily our lives are shattered. It is probably time to start donating to the Red Cross, who will be providing medical and emergency food help to the people in their time of need.

Update 10:01 AM: I just noticed this amazing quote from the article above giving an idea of the true magnitude of the quake: "All the planet is vibrating" from the quake, said Enzo Boschi, the head of Italy's National Geophysics Institute. Speaking on SKY TG24 TV, Boschi said the quake even disturbed the Earth's rotation. (Emphasis added by me.)