[skippy the wonder dog]

Initial pledges of aid from Canada and the US work out to about one thin dime, per capita. Imagine if every one of us in North America parted with a buck, instead ... or a nice fresh $20 bill. The need is there. Cholera and other water-borne diseases are a serious threat that is likely to kill many more people in the weeks to come. And everything, from burying bodies to shipping vaccines, costs money.

There's no way to fix it, but we can help to stop it from getting worse.

Now definitely is the time to be generous.

[direwolf74]

Just read that Canada has now pledged another $36 million in aid.

<!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="http://www.cbc.ca/story/canada/national/2004/12/29/dart-tsunami041229.html">http://www.cbc.ca/story/canada/national ... 41229.html</a><!-- m -->

[beanmedic]

Here's some amazing footage of it coming in.

<!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="http://content.collegehumor.com/media/movies/patong_beach.wmv">http://content.collegehumor.com/media/m ... _beach.wmv</a><!-- m -->

[beanmedic]

Here's another one

<!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="http://content.collegehumor.com/media/movies/sri_lanka_tsunami.wmv">http://content.collegehumor.com/media/m ... sunami.wmv</a><!-- m -->

[CanuckCourage]

Makes you feel sick seeing that, knowing there's kids playing on the beach when that wave rolls in. Overwhelmingly sad.

[o78]

Watching the footage does makes you feel sick to your stomach and it completely breaks my heart I can't even begin to imagine..... it is so so horrible.

[tommygunn]

Another vid. One of the more dramatic ones I've seen...
http://www.putfile.com/media.php?n=tsunamiphuket

[tommygunn]

[beanmedic]

Another vid. One of the more dramatic ones I've seen...
http://www.putfile.com/media.php?n=tsunamiphuket

wow thats one of the worst things ive ever seen

[tommygunn]

With all the harrowing stories of loss and devastation , I thought a feel-good story such as this was a welcome change.

British schoolgirl saves lives in Phuket
11.43AM, Sat Jan 1 2005

A ten-year-old girl has saved her family and 100 other tourists on a beach in Thailand because she had learnt about Tsunamis at school.

Ten-year-old Tilly Smith was holidaying with her mother Penny, father Colin and seven-year-old sister Holly on Maikhao beach in Phuket, Thailand, when the tide suddenly rushed out.

The water began to bubble and the boats on the horizon started to violently bob up and down.

Tilly, who had studied tsunamis in a geography class just two weeks earlier, quickly realised they were in terrible danger.

She told her mother they had to get off the beach immediately and warned there could be a tsunami, according to a UK newspaper.

She explained she had just completed a school project on the huge waves and said they were seeing the warning signs that a tsunami was minutes away.

Her parents alerted the other holidaymakers and staff at their hotel, which was quickly evacuated. The wave crashed a few minutes later, but no one on the beach was killed or seriously injured.

Tilly, from Oxshott, Surrey, gave the credit to her geography teacher, Andrew Kearney, at Oxshott's Danes Hill Prep School.

She said: "Last term Mr Kearney taught us about earthquakes and how they can cause tsunamis.

"I was on the beach and the water started to go funny. There were bubbles and the tide went out all of a sudden.

"I recognised what was happening and had a feeling there was going to be a tsunami. I told mummy."

Tilly's mother said she was "very proud" of her daughter, while her headteacher Robin Parfitt said she had "wisdom beyond her years".

Mr Kearney said he remembered teaching Tilly and her fellow students that after the sea was sucked backwards, the next five to ten minutes were crucial for people to survive.

He said her quick-witted actions were typical. He said: "I'm stunned at the news but so relieved she and her family are safe. Tilly is a very bright level-headed girl.

"Nothing illustrates her character more than her brave actions in a terrifying situation."

Tilly's family have decided to finish their holiday in response to pleas from the Thai tourist board.

http://www.itv.com/news/index_1535151.html

[j-monster]

A terrible, terrible tragedy. I can't even fathom being part of some disaster which has killed at least 100,000 and probably more. What a strange thing life on earth is, and even stranger is how quickly and shockingly it can end.

I for one wish to donate to charities collecting funds for relief for the victims, and encourage others to do so. Does anyone have any suggestions?

P.S. tommygunn, the story about the British girl recognizing the danger and saving those people was incredible... thanks for trying to show some good news amidst all the tragedy involved.

[grooveless touque]

I donated $50 to the Red Cross...and so far over $2.5 BILLION U.S. has been donated to charities and pledged by countries. For some reason the world's wealthy countries took a long time to get into gear, but now they're living up to their responsibilities to help when it's needed.

An extra big kudos to Japan...their government pledged half a billion dollars, far more than any country in the world including the US.

[o78]

The Red Cross is one of the main ways of donating. I also saw on the news that there are numerous people across the country who are setting up booths in shopping malls so you could also check the malls near you. I was at Walmart yesterday and saw that you can add a donation to your final bill as well. It's nice to see so many people across the world pitching in to help.[/code]

[j-monster]

Thanks... I ended up going through the Canadian Red Cross website to send my donation. The link is http://www.redcross.ca/ in case anyone else is interested.

[go(r)d]

Way to go guys, good to see people chipping in, there's never been a more importent time. I made a donation to Oxfam International (<!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="http://www.oxfam.co.uk/">http://www.oxfam.co.uk/</a><!-- m -->)