I'm glad to hear from the jdorama members in Asia and glad to hear you and your family are safe but it's heartbreaking to know that your friends and their relatives are still unknown in terms of their safety or their situation.

I'm very shocked to see the numbers jump up to 80,000+ and I'm hoping history doesn't repeat itself in terms of the top natural disasters in the past where numbers could grow even more because the care and medication is not there. In the past, due to the lack of good drinking water and medication, people died due to waterborne diseases and infections. I'm hoping that aid can get to these countries and the amount of devastation requires all countries to give a helping hand.

Here in the U.S., the news continues to be shown on CNN but also showing how a Sports Illustrated cover model barely survived and lost her photographer boyfriend during the tsunami when their bungalow was swept. She survived by clinging on to a tree, which is similar to many reports that I read and heard also from British survivors interviewed on BBC. The other was that guy who is on Oprah's show and how he and a friend were swept away and he survived but his friend is missing.

The stories that terrify me are about children screaming for help and then seconds later after the next big wave...the screams were no more. Too many people, many children died and there is a report that certain areas had a 4 hour warning regarding a possible tsunami but didn't act on it. Has anyone heard similar news about this?

kndy

pcmodem wrote:

Just got an e-mail back from a couple of my GF's buddies who were on vacation in Thailand. They were snorkeling, out a sea just off Phi Phi island at 9:45 AM, having just left their hotel on Patong Beach (Phuket) at 9AM by speedboat. 9:45 AM Jumped into the water... boat guide receives a phone call from shore 9:50 AM Boat guide orders everyone back into the boat ASAP... water suddenly recedes from under the boat until it is stuck in the sand... a 4 foot wave hits the boat and knocks everyone out... water level is higher now, the boat takes the passengers out to sea to wait. 12:00 PM Police give okay for boats to return to Phuket 1:30 PM Arrive back at Phuket dock, rushing for higher ground 1:40 PM Waves start getting bigger, hitting beach with force 3:00 PM On higher and safe ground, reports of thousands of dead bodies on Patong Beach 3:10 PM Reports of 10 meter high waves presently hitting Patong Beach. Police not allowing anyone near the beach. Additional news... Phuket airport badly damaged. Sustained 7 to 10 meter waves hit Patong Beach. Their hotel survived, but wooden structures collapsed and cars are everywhere in piles. Whoa.

Whoa, I just saw a report on the news where some folks were scuba diving when the tsunami hit. And they survived. Incredible.

They said they left paradise when they went scuba diving and when they came back it was hell...

bmwracer wrote:

Whoa, I just saw a report on the news where some folks were scuba diving when the tsunami hit. And they survived. Incredible. They said they left paradise when they went scuba diving and when they came back it was hell...

This thing happened to a couple from Brazil. They went scuba moments before the tsunami hit the Phi Phi Island. And when they back, they found everything on the beach destroyed ...
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martigasino wrote:

i am from argentina and here i can't get too much information about the tsunami, i have a friend that lives in singapore ,how is the situation there i would like to know the only thing they say here among other things is that thailand and sumatra they were moved but i dont know from where the wave came from that's why i dont know how is singapore is somebody could tell me thank. is really a tragedy what happened on asia .let's only hope that something like this never happen again.

whisper wrote:

singapore wasn't affected at all by the tsunamis and quakes - some ppl felt the shaking but nothing happened beyond that. singapore is giving aid and relief to the other countries

Thanks for your concern on this topic. I and many other Jdorama.com members are saddened by this tragedy. We already have a topic for this. I will merge it now.
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i was around that area in thailand a few weeks ago... i find it hard to beleive this is happeneing, first the death toll at 20,000 and now it jumping up to 80,000+, with still heaps missing, its so sad. i pray that everyone is alright. i dont know if any of you know about a sport called cricket, but on the day of the tsunami nz beat sri lanka (i was at the game), and then they were told of the tsunami after the game. they cancelled their tour of nz, and are now waiting for a flight to get back home to see their loved ones.
man this is very bad for the economys of the countries affected, because the tourism industry may never recover.
sorry if i wrote anything wrong, i am just so tired right now. :

I can't look at this website anymore : http://news.bbc.co.uk/

Each time I refresh, I see the death toll Increasing....

Even Somalia was hit by the tsunami...

At the moment there are talking about 20 french who died there, but we don't have news from hundreds of Europeans. One of my friends is waiting for news from his family who was there...

It is very sad what has happened. Every morning when i read the papers, the death toll is high, and the worst thing is when i watch the news at night, the figure is even higher. What i hope for now is that the people in affected areas will get the help they need and those in the isolated islands can be reached soon. Xavio, really pray hard that your friend will hear from the family soon..

Yow, the death toll is now at 114,000... Unbelievable.

Everyone in the disaster area has my prayers with them... of course not forgetting families of all the missing... I've read through a couple of boards where families are trying to find their relatives and i can only imagine the pain this uncertainty is causing. I really hope your loved ones are going to be ok.

edit: according to finnish sources the death toll has risen to 125,000+

http://news.com.com/Internet+use+cutting+into+TV+viewing+and+socializing/2100-1026_3-5507547.html?tag=st_lh

Very interesting read! Coincidentally, my mom and I were discussing this issue over dinner just last night. IMO, I feel some on-line people are losing their people-based social skills. Not specifically on JDorama.com, but definitely on other Internet-based systems, especially the IRC and newsgroups. By cutting down live human-to-human contact and more on-line, it affects the way they communicate overall on a negative level, especially in areas where the person is not sensative to certain subject matters that affect a particular group of people, culture, and geographical location.

--- groink

I answered : "I have a feeling I piss more people off now"...

Maybe it's because, internet doesn't have improved my social life. I think internet is a drug, it's just an illusion. I have almost one hundred contacts on msn, some of them are nice but they are not real friend. I am sure that I'll never meet 50% of this friends. You believe you have a lot of friend, but actually you are alone behind your computer in the real life.

Internet is great to talk with people living very far from your house, to learn a lot from them, but sometimes I forgot other people that I can see everyday, and I feel sorry about that.

I think, without internet, I would have 10 girlfriends now... but i'm single because I still hope to meet again my japanese friend(s) .
( tomorrow, it's new year party, so I won't be single for a long time )

And geek power !

I think it depends on the person. I know some people who are so into the internet they never leave the house and never socialize with people anymore. My sister became like that but is starting to go out again now. Other I know have improved their lives from the internet. I have met several very wonderful people via e-pals and it is a great source of news. I think the experience depends on each person as an individual. Either you have a propensity for hiding away or not the internet just gives people who are on the border an extra push into the direction of being a shut in I think.
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I think i can honestly say that internet has not had an impact on me YET. I have a friend though who has become too addicted to internet and now it's hard to get him out anymore... I'm afraid this is happening to me alsoas i've been in internet quite a lot in the past few days. That's why i'm going to cut down my internet usage and keep my real life.

Xavio wrote:

You believe you have a lot of friend, but actually you are alone behind your computer in the real life.

heh. this is so true, but it really depends on the person, though i have met 30% of my online friends, plus the fact that ive lost in touch with my other friends from hs.. internet/email is the only way we could keep in touch besides calling each other. though bout social life, has been pretty average, i guess it has improved my social life.. bec. i get to meet different types of faceless (different) personalities and such, and getting used to it makes my life at ease offline (specially meeting new friends)

culture shock is another example. while real life is totally different offline, but youre all the same online.

you know the only thing i dont like bout this media-stuff involved in our lives is when we keep in touch with friends, like lets say theyre late at a party.. instead they text/email you back saying "sorry...blah blah blah".. why cant they call me straight out? is it cuz they dont want me to hear their voice reaction? or theyre guilty or something? i think texting/email takes more time than calling someone.
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huh? the internet IS my social life.

bmwracer wrote:

Whoa, I just saw a report on the news where some folks were scuba diving when the tsunami hit. And they survived. Incredible.

Betsy Hayashi wrote:

This thing happened to a couple from Brazil. They went scuba moments before the tsunami hit the Phi Phi Island.

there was also a news reporter that was swimming in the water when the tsunami hit. from what i've read and heard (no facts or statistics, but), you actually have a better chance of surviving if you're already IN the water when it happens. the human body is rather bouyant, and when the water level rises, the body just rises with it. if you're on land, however, you're probably completely unaware of anything until that wall of water hits you.

Man I'm getting really depressed watching the news. I got a few malaysian friends that I lost contact with, though malaysia isn't mentioned on the news at all? hope they are doing fine.

as for tourists: at least they can go home, locals don't even have a home to return to

It can't be bad for my social life 'cause I have no social life.

bmwracer wrote:

It can't be bad for my social life 'cause I have no social life.

I don't think the internet has affected me negatively at all.

"Nothing has changed, I'm the same person"


I don't really depend on the internet to meet new friends or whatnot. Just a way to relax and let out stress (I guess....). I don't really chat with anyone. Only on this forum do I chat with others.
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