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Last updated on March 6th, 2018 at 12:30 am
The toll – largely meaningless, since so many areas still remain to be searched – now stands at 130,000. Indonesia’s official death count has reached 79,940. Entire villages have been destroyed.
Australians have contributed $64 million to aid organisations. One anonymous donor pledged $200,000; Sydney woman Marion van der Reijden is coordinating a medical-supplies appeal for Aceh, supported by STA Travel. Want to help? Call 0405 576 933.
In Aceh, the Australian army is restoring clean water; or, rather, introducing clean water. “They usually draw water from wells and then boil everything,” warrant officer Allan Lewis told AAP. “With this, many of them will be able to get clean water from their taps and we can stop them having to boil it.” In Galle, Sri Lanka, World Vision Australia boss Tim Costello says: “I am proud to hear how Australians are responding to this challenge and I am constantly telling Sri Lankans that Australians will stand with them.”
We will. Meanwhile, some 7,000 foreign tourists remain missing. The Sydney Morning Herald has a country-by-country list of the dead and vanished, which does not include the 2,402 said by Thai officials to have been killed:
Austria: six dead, 16 missing
Australia: 12 dead, 107 missing
Belgium: six dead, 215 missing
Brazil: two dead
Britain: 35 dead
Canada: five dead, 150 missing
China: one dead, seven missing
Croatia: one dead, nine missing
Czech Republic: one dead, 90 missing
Denmark: seven dead, 454 missing
Finland: fourteen dead, 193 missing
France: 22 dead, 96 missing
Germany: 34 dead, 1000 missing
Greece: nine dead
Hong Kong: four dead, 109 missing
Hungary: 20 dead
Iceland: 11 dead
Ireland: 20 dead
Israel: three dead, seven missing
Italy: 18 dead, 660 missing
Japan: 18 dead
Luxembourg: 11 dead
Malta: one dead
Mexico: fifteen dead
Netherlands: six dead, 30 missing
New Zealand: one dead, 302 missing
Norway: 21 dead, 462 missing
Poland: four dead, 43 missing
Portugal: eight dead
Russia: one dead
Singapore: nine dead, 17 missing
South Africa: four dead, 16 missing
South Korea: ten dead, ten missing
Spain: 11 dead
Sweden: 60 dead, 3,559 missing
Switzerland: 16 dead, 70 missing
Taiwan: one dead
Turkey: 53 dead
United States: 15 dead
(There are several footnotes to that list. Hit the link for details.)
The front page of Singapore’s Straits Times asks: “Where are the 299 Singaporeans?” Sydney’s Daily Telegraph has an online bulletin board for those seeking news about the missing. The messages make you weep:
Dorian Alexander Woods, 45, who is teaching English in Watgun temple in Thailand, your mum and dad are worried about you because they can’t get hold of you. We know you live in Petchaburi and travel to Cha-Ram beach on the weekends. Just give us a call. Barbara.
Where are you mate? Graham Dixon, 28, who is in Phuket. I heard from you a week ago. Give me a call. Dave.
My business partner Bruce Weller, his wife Chichani and daughter Melanie, working in Hikkidua, in Sri Lanka, I haven’t heard from you mate. I’ve seen the destruction and am worried about you. Greg.
Where are you? I’m looking for my brother Darrel James Gaut, who was last seen in Phuket. He’s a 53-year-old maintenance worker from Queensland. Waiting is hard and we want to know how you are. Love, your sister.
I have my best friend living in Male in The Maldives. Her name is Lianne Atkinson. She has dual passports so I think she is still listed as an Australian. She works for Dhivehi Raajeyge Gulhun Pvt Ltd. Hope you are safe. Debbie.
Daniel Wong, 23, from Pennant Hills, who went with your family on Christmas Day to Malaysia. You rang on Christmas night but I haven’t heard from you since. Jon.
Shank, you out there? Shankar Krisha Mutti, this is Bhavesh. You have travelled to Thailand and we have had no contact from you since. We just wondering if you’re OK. Do let us know of your whereabout. Bhavesh.
Ajay and Vanesa Prashad staying at ClubMed in the Maldives are presumed missing. Our prayers and loving thoughts are with you. Any family member who reads this please contact me ASAP. John.
No-one has been in-touch about my daughter, Alexandra (nee Adorni) and my new son-in-law, Steven Stewart who are supposed to be on their honeymoon in or near Phuket. I have no idea if they are safe or not. Can anyone help? Beverley
I am very concerned for the safety of my daughter, Jacqueline, who is travelling in Burma, with a friend. The only reports I have seen put the death toll in Burma at 90 but I cannot get any information. Jacqueline phoned home on Christmas Day and when we were not at home left a message that she would ring back in a couple of days. There has been no further phone calls, giving rise to our growing concern. I would be grateful if I could find out the real situation in Burma. Thank you, Stuart.
Many more messages are listed at the above site. Call The Daily Telegraph on 9288 3363 if you have any information.
Also among the missing: Caroline Rosso, Sam Green, Troy Broadbridge, and Moi Vogel.
Following are donation websites and phone numbers for Australian readers:
World Vision: 13 32 40
Australian Red Cross: 1800 811 700, or post a cheque to GPO Box 9949 in your capital city
Oxfam: 1800 034 034
CARE Australia: 1800 020 046
UNICEF: 1300 884 233
US readers: please donate via Amazon or by calling World Vision: 888-562-4453
- I have just checked the Aljazeera website as I try to get a wide view of world opinion. You may find it hard to believe but they have an article discussing the work America (and Australia) is doing in Indonesia helping the victims of the tsunami and what a great job their doing.
http://english.aljazeera.net/NR/exeres/4A0A0C42-C6C4-42A8-8B5D-5BAC00C99BA2.htm
Isn’t strange that Aljazeera finds it easy to commend America and Australia for their assistance at this terrible time than some prominent Australian papers.
- Yes, kudos to you, Tim.
I already wrote in comments to that troll, saint, what a decent thing you have been doing with your ‘blog.
Those pleas are heartbreaking. We were fortunate to recieve an email from an old American college buddy living in Phuket to say he is fine though his friends there had a rough time of it. One Thai friend rode out the wave in the pilot house of a boat. He said it was terrifying.
My son’s former teacher’s daughter is fine, too, having left the beach in Sri Lanka to get to work excavating (She’s an archeologist. They work Sundays, I guess).
I pray that there is some comfort for those families that are hearing worse news.
- Does anyone have any idea why so many more Swedes are missing/dead than are tourists from other countries? I’ve seen other reports that indicate that possibly over 6,000 Swedes are unaccounted for. Of all the countries that were not directly hit by the tsunami, the Swedish population appears to have suffered an incredibly disproportionate loss of life, especially compared to its neighbors, Norway and Denmark. Just curious. ThanksPosted by lil varmint on 01/03 at 03:46 PM • #
- Tourist resorts are usually clustered together fairly close and specific areas often tend to be favorite spots for a certain group of Europeans (or rather, the travel operators they book through). Perhaps the resorts primarily occupied by Swedes were located in a more vulnerable spot than those of everybody else. Just my unqualified speculating though…
- Bigfire, you didn’t connect to either the right post here or to the Diplomad website. Watch those urls!Posted by Andrea Harris on 01/03 at 04:56 PM • #
- Of course, Costello talks about “Australians.” It obviously sticks in his throat to give and praise or credit to, or express any confidence in, the Australian GOVERNMENT – that would give credit to John Howard.
Costello remains a leftist wanker.
Posted by Kevin Dunn on 01/03 at 06:33 PM • #
I hate to keep harping on the UN, but it’s times like these that make me realize just how utterly useless that organization has become. Ensuring that villages have clean water is one of the basic jobs the UN has.
I started to wonder how many villages, each year, the UN had helped to get the basics like clean water. As I researched the answer I became more convinced that the UN had more than outlived its usefulness.
I wonder if when the UN holds its tsunami aid strategy meeting, they’ll note a clean water supply to Aceh has begun to be made possible by the Australian army? I wonder if the UN will make a note to expand on this start the Australians have made so Aceh can have all the clean water it could ever use?