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Tsunami in sri lanka

B

Borneo

In response to the many messages we have received this morning, we were not directly affected by the tidal waves in Sri Lanka although two of our staff who live on the coast are not contactable, hopefully only because the phone lines there are down. Of course with a death toll of 4,000 and rising, Sri Lanka is a sad place today.
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Bob,

My condolences to the victims in Sri Lanka and other parts of Asia.

Surprising, here in Malaysia, much closer to the epicentre of the quake, the death toll is relatively small. Last reported - 45 - mostly in Penang.

The northern states felt the after shocks but not here in Kuala Lumpur.

For the first time people in the affected area experience waves as tall as a coconut tree.

Choong
 
Glad to hear you made it Rob. Hope everyone else is OK.
 
Rob,

Thanks for letting us know you're OK!

I'm sure that the devastation is unimaginable for those
who have not seen it. Therefore, I don't know what
condolences to offer other than to say that I know
that many people around the world feel very badly
for all the victims of this disaster. And, for my part,
I wish you the very best during this difficult time....
 
Good to hear you're OK!
This time nature showed us how powerful she is. I hope the aftershoks won't be as strong as the main earthquakes.
Good luck in this difficult time.
mfG
Max
 
Glad to see you're okay. I picked up the paper this morning here at work, and risked getting fired(hopping online illegally) to see if you were okay, or if you were found floating on a home-made raft strapped together with Nepenthes vine(using empty pitchers as floaters).
I am so relieved, but it is very sad to see something like that happen.

Cheers,

Joe
 
I was shocked as I watched the news this morning. Talk about diaster. Glad you are OK Rob, and hope your staff members are just busy with helping the clean up.
 
yah, hope everything turns out ok for ya
 
Thank you everyone.  It's a terribly difficult time.  10,000+ people in a country this small means that many people know someone who died.  One of our lab workers went home today to the funeral of her Uncle and his two children.  Thankfully, all our staff are safe, the ones that were on the coast on Sunday just couldn't get in touch with us as communications were all down.

Nature is just awesome.  This was the result on an on-going ancient natural process, for a change, I guess it's probable that man had nothing to do with it but I wish we could just stop interfering with the planet in general.
 
  • #10
Rob, glad to hear that you and staff are safe. It is incredible to think that in 2004 there is no tsunami warning system in the Indian Ocean despite the large number of people living in vulnerable low-lying coastal areas and the high probability of tectonic activity.
 
  • #11
About 56.000 people died...and it's getting more and more...how terrible!
I don't have words for this...
 
  • #12
Bob,

Tsunamis here are very rare compared to the frequent (but smaller) ones in the Pacific. I guess they will be doing something about that situation now though. Also people had no idea what was happening when the sea receeded, some even went out to pick up the stranded fish.
 
  • #13
I was just watching the news and they said 60K dead or missing.... horrible...
 
  • #14
I'm afraid it's going to be much, much worse than that. There is a single town in Sumatra that has been devastated to such an extent that a rough estimate puts half the population dead. The population of the town was 95,000...

We're setting something up here later today to enable people abroad to donate even small amounts of money by credit card to aid disaster relief in Sri Lanka. So far we have collected $1,200 locally amongst our friends.
 
  • #16
No, not at all, we're several miles inland and quite far North where the Tsunami didn't have so much affect. However, at least 6 of our staff have lost close relatives and funerals have begun. Many more relatives of our staff are still missing. I've lived in Asia for 25 years and seen quite a bit but nothing comes anywhere close to the horror of this disaster. Words cannot express the sadness around here. Our staff have decided to continue to function though, although we had considered closing down for a while. We are still exporting as scheduled, since exports are important, not just to B.E.'s staff but to the country that needs every $ from exports.
 
  • #17
If anyone wishes to help, you can donate to any of the major aid agencies or alternatively, we are collecting donations which will be used for a specific cause at some stage in this ongoing crisis. Payment can be made by credit card (VISA or Mastercard) and our bank has kindly agreed to reduce the usual processing fee to a minimum, so more of your donation can be used to help those who are in such desperate need.

We have created a web page at Disaster Relief Appeal with more details. Even very small donations are invaluable, since US$10 can feed an entire family for a week whilst they are getting back on their feet, rebuilding their houses etc.

Thanking you in advance for any help you can give.

The Staff at Borneo Exotics
Sri Lanka
 
  • #18
The Borneo Exotics Disaster Relief Fund is a fantastic idea Rob! This can quickly get money to people living in the area who know the needs and where it can be used most effectively.
 
  • #19
Bob,

Thank you for your generous donation, nearly the first one.  Also thanks to the many other donors.  Most of the donations have been larger than expected but even small amounts are very welcome.

A friend has just got back from Tricomalee on the East Coast.  On the day of the disaster, he hired a 4 wheel drive, grabbed a doctor, filled the vehicle with provisions and set off.   What he reports is that there is now some duplication of effort which is something we shall avoid. How the money is used will be detailed on our web page at www.borneoexotics.com/aspx/disaster.aspx

Thanks again everyone.
 
  • #20
I'm glad your okay, and that the nursury was undamaged, and i'm also glad that it didn't happen while i was in Bali this summer. It was horrible that this had to happen though. Kinda makes you think how many times you can dodge the bullet...
 
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