NEWS: 30,000 Now Believed Dead After Sub-Continent Earthquake

Figures have risen dramatically with between 18000 and 30,000 people expected to have died and 41000 injured after the earthquake which rocked the Indian/Pakistan Kashmir region yesterday. The Earthquake caused buildings to collapse and whole villages to disappear. Aftershocks have been reported at around 6 on the richter scale and the region is bracing itself for more aftershocks. Fatalities have been reported in Afghanistan and India has reported 300 deaths as a result of the seismic upheavel. The quake caused so much damage because it was only situated 10 kilometres underground, much closer to the surface than other recent world quakes of the same magnitude.



I hope the world will come to the aid of the people in the region quickly. 18,000 is a high number of people to be wiped out by an earthquake in the area that it was felt.



Related News Links:
www.news.com.au

[edit on 9-10-2005 by Mayet]

I have to wonder how they came to such a high count so quickly. It takes time to find and count that many bodies. I don't doubt that the count will be high, but I have to wonder about the methods employed to arrive at that count so quickly.

I think it may be an estimation rather like the figures released straight after Katrina hit of 10000 deaths when eventually there was only just over 1000.

From reports coming through though many villages have disappeared and many buildings including large high rises have collapsed from the tremors

Reading this got me thinking about international aid. How much longer will it be before countries can no longer help out? If that time ever comes it's definitely going to suck for countries hit by these disasters... I know that the world GNP is upwards of the many many trillions (possibly another couple commas) of dollars... Maybe this will help people get the idea that massive spending on militaries isn't as necessary? Who knows...

Just a thought.

If entire villages disappeared then a count such as 18,000 doesnt seem that inflated.

2005 as been a horrific year for humanity.

Pre-Game Show

Originally posted by Simulacra
2005 as been a horrific year for humanity.

If my whacked-out mystic visions are correct, it gets worse from here.

Crazy, weird, hella-bad calamities at an unprecedented rate, if I'm right. Basically, the bottom drops out of the cosmic bucket and real life starts looking more and more like a Wes Craven movie or (horrors!) Kevin Costner's next project.

Then again, maybe I'm wrong.

That's what makes it all so much fun.

It will be interesting to see how little coverage this gets compared to Katrina. 1000 people here die... BIG NEWS FOR SEVERAL WEEKS. Couple thousand in some "backwards" non-white country... no biggie.

The only thing that kind of disturbs me is... why is this kid being pulled from the rubble in Pakistan wearing those darn fad bracelets? How did they ever make their way over there, and why would they waste money on them:

i.a.cnn.net... op.quake7.ap.jpg

If you're one of those people who believe the moon landing isn't real, you might want to look into whether natural events are real, or if they just get Americans to act in massive-scale. I personally doubt that they would fake a giant natural disaster, but that image lends well to the theory.
"In Search Of Bigfoot, take two" "CUT, we can see your watch!"


[edit on 9-10-2005 by Yarcofin]

Well here is a classic example

www.cnn.com...

— AUSTRALIA: $8 million to American Red Cross.

www.news.com.au...

AUSTRALIA will donate $500,000 for medical and relief assistance following the massive earthquake which shook parts of Pakistan, India and Afghanistan, killing more than 18,000 people.

Speechless and disgusted here.

and damned ashamed of my country.

Originally posted by Mayet
Speechless and disgusted here.

and damned ashamed of my country.

Yeah, it's a crying shame when the provision and magnitude of aid becomes purely determined by the level of geo-political favour gained.

I just found out this morning as to the death toll, this just incredible, I wonder if one of the reasons for disasters of this magnitude to do so much devastation in countries like Pakistan and others in the area is due to the type of construction, perhaps the economic troubles is big factor.

I hate seeing humanity suffer, but I hate seeing people who look like me suffer more, especially children The magnitude and scale of this event I feel still hasn't quite hit home for many people, this is enormously devastating.

Mayet:

Don't make judgements yet.

If I recall correctly (and I may be wrong), Australia up'ed it's aid re Katrina later on...or was it the Tsunami?

See if they do the same in this case - give it a little time

Cheers

JS

I will wait and see if Jack Boots comes to the party and up's the contribution. But the Government have shown how despicable they are. USA is a rich country and able to get back on it's feet quickly. In other words they didn't really need the money as compared to these people left suffering after the sub continent earthquake.

I am not saying don't give the USA money, but what I am saying is fair is fair. How does 18000 compare to 1000 lives? They were both tragic events but honestly the sub continent needs the assistance much more.

How many people are left homeless and without a penny to their names from this new disaster?

I saw a soundbyte (bite?) with the Weasel and he said the half-mil offer was "an initial sum". I would guess that larger sums take a while longer to organize.

Yeah but he found 4 million easily enough to bribe the tassie timber workers. I have no faith in Jack Boots and less in him after this announcement.

I do wonder what the final figure will be of aid.

so far over 19000 are confirmed dead from the disaster with media reports that figure could be as high as 50,000. Not since the tsunami has the world seen such a widespread fatal disaster.

www.news.com.au...

WORLD leaders expressed shock and sadness over the quake that devastated parts of South Asia on the weekend as the true scope of the disaster unfolded with more than 20,000 deaths being reported overnight.
Pope Benedict XVI said on Sunday he was "deeply saddened" by the quake, which also injured more than 42,000 and left tens of thousands more homeless.

US President George W. Bush expressed his condolences to Pakistan and said the United States was ready "to help in any way we can".

Speaking to reporters in Washington after a meeting with Pakistani diplomats who briefed him on the damage caused by the quake, Mr Bush said he had spoken to Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf and expressed "our nation's deepest condolences".

"I told him that we want to help in any way we can," Mr Bush said.

The US president said eight helicopters were being dispatched to Pakistan as a first step, after a specific request for the versatile aircraft, which can get supplies and rescue teams to remote areas.

Pakistan's Interior Minister Aftab Sherpao told a news conference at least 19,136 people were already confirmed dead and 42,397 had been hurt, but that "casualties are increasing by the hour".

The global outpouring of sympathy has been matched by aid pledges, with European Union first to respond by earmarking up to $US3.6 million for the rescue effort.

The World Bank has offered $US20 million to Pakistan to help deal with the "enormous scale" of the tragedy, while the Asian Development Bank pledged $US10 million in immediate aid and assistance.

Australia has now upped its aid offered by 5.5 million dollars. They must have read this thread and realised people were not impressed

And at the same time US President Bush has offered $66 million dollars in AID.

here is my issue. The US was just given millions upon millions by the rest of the world. And here they are just a few weeks later giving away 66 million in AID and meantime in Guatemalas where 1700 people died after the earthquakes and volcanic eruptions/landslides, is having difficulty in getting AID.


*The US is one of the richest nations in the world. They didn't really need AID after Katrina and have made it look like a joke for sending AID to them by this giving of 66 million dollars. Why did we send 8 million to the US if they can afford to give 66 million away two weeks later. I am not saying the US should not AID Pakistan but I am saying the whole scheme is pointless and quite frankly a joke. Did Australia get brownies points for giving away that money

and I still say how dare they insult the subcontinent with their first offer of 500000 dollars after the US fiasco.

*Guatemala needs AID but gets none

* The sub continent needs more. The quake hit in poor countries that can't afford the relief effort.

Where is all the sense in the AID?

2.5 MILLION people are without a Roof over their Heads.

There are estimates about 41.000 People dead.

200.000 Winter Tents are NEEDED urgently!

But help to Pakistan is coming really Slowly...

Where are all the Super Rich nations?

Where are all that are Willing to Help?

Suddenly everything went Quiet...

Originally posted by Souljah


Where are all that are Willing to Help?

Suddenly everything went Quiet...

Israel's offer of humanitarian aid to both Pakistan and India has as of yet gone unanswered.

I hope Islamabad is not as stupid as Iran which refused assistance from us following a catastrophic earthquake there in 2003 that killed more than 30,000 people.