Earthquake in Pakistan-India. More than 20000 dead

[Nikolas]

Ok. the topic says it all.

http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/ap/20051008/ap_on_re_as/pakistan_quake_23

A very quick link for some information, but just heard that a 90 storey building collapsed with 400 children inside.

The earthquake was 7.6 Richter.

And I used to believe that Greece was having strong earthquakes. What did I knew back the...?

[Minimi]

Yes it's terrible, and it's only getting worser and worser, as we get nearer to the apocalypse of the earth

[jetxl]

Whas there an Apocalypse of Jupiter as well?

Not to sound cold, but Earth is an vulcanic active planet. Things might be calm for a few decades but never be static.

[IM NOT TEH SPAM]

The world isn't going to end until the sun engulfs it in a few million years... sorry to dissapoint you.

400 children died?  Damn.  It's sad...  More than 1000?  From an earthquake?

[Timosity]

Yeah, it's terrible, natural disasters kill more people usually than anything else, other than probably raod accidents.

on another topic I'm suprised there wasn't a thread on the Bali suicide bombings a week ago which occurred almost exactly 3 years after the previous attacks just as the tourist trade was picking up again.

I'm also suprised that there wasn't a thread about the death of Ronnie Barker, what's happening to you people?

[Renal Shutdown]

I guess I shouldn't have had those beans for tea..

Altho, on a serious note, in case anyone is from the area or knows anyone involved, you have my condolences.Ã,  Natural disasters are a really crappy thing to happen, since no matter how much planning to put into things, nature has it's way of top trumping you everytime.Ã,  I must say, tho, a 90-storey building sounds like a bad idea from the get go.Ã,  The less storeys, the less stuff can fall on you.Ã,  (I understand the need for space, too.Ã,  I just think outwards is better than upwards when it comes to development).

[Nikolas]

The thing is that in Japan for example they have high buildings 90+ storeys but they also have developed the technology to withstand an earthquake with some kind of new ideas for metal that can vibrate or something. I don't think that Pakistan is so technologically advanced as Japan (of course I could be mistaken, but I doubt it...)

Minimi: This might enter us into another "religious" discussion, but I'm sure that me, my children and my grandchildren won't live to see the apocalyspe! Of course things after 50 years might be so ugly that we won't want to live, but yet again, I sure hope that The Ultimate Being (whatever name here) will come down to earth to resolve things much much later...

And I guess that (apart from earthquakes, which are probably not our fault), the rest natural disasters are all humans fault. Fires? So much wood, so much paper, so many people in the same place. Floods? Cities under water level (N.O.). Cancer? Try smoking, and the ozon layer. Etc. etc. And while I think about it earthquakes wouldn't be so disasterous if we hadn't had 90 storey buildings, but 1 or 2 storey...

Help! I'm being pessimistic...!!!!

Even worst I'm being ecofriendly!!!! AAAAAAAAAA

[Kinoko]

Death toll is up to more than 18,000 now.

[Nikolas]

Death toll is up to more than 18,000 now.

God...

[Babar]

The thing is that in Japan for example they have high buildings 90+ storeys but they also have developed the technology to withstand an earthquake with some kind of new ideas for metal that can vibrate or something. I don't think that Pakistan is so technologically advanced as Japan (of course I could be mistaken, but I doubt it...)

Concrete and steel are not so technologically advanced that they can't be available here. However, those idiots tried cutting corners and stealing money by using cheap faulty materials, more sand that cement and steel, etc. Now there are hundreds of people trapped under the rubble. Sad thing is, it probably won't change.

[esper]

Please: After the September 11th terrorist bombings here in the US, the only thing that changed was the govornment tried to piss off as many innocent people as possible... And that wasn't even much of a change from the way things had been. Nothing ever changes. If Minimi's apocalypse happened right now, everyone would be all, "Cool. Let's increase security in our airports and make it so people who want to defend thamselves can't get guns..."

EDIT 2 hours later 

.....................And raise gas prices...

[Nacho]

My condolences. I felt specially bad for Babar, but I see he's here 

But 20,000 people is a lot, hope you have no relatives involved in Cachemire...

Anyway, if it a real pitty no matter if friends of a friend are involved or not... 

[TheCheese33]

I can't stand these recent events. Hurricane Katrina, California landslides (BIGGER landslides, not the normal ones), and the rest of these disasters have shaken me to the core. I pray to God that this will all end soon. I can't stand natural disasters like these!

[Tuomas]

WHO announced just before the earthquake that this very year 250 000 people had died in natural disasters. Add here 20 000 and you can say it's horrible. But I think that the first eq/tsunami somehow got them all moving a bit, therefore we may wait for some more in a few years...

I think I read the number in NY Times, I'd link you, but it's not free to read the paper, you'd need to subscribe to it... But to think of it, 270 000 in one year?!?! I know it's just a coinsidence but it sure as hell will leave stains in the population statistics.

[TheCheese33]

I'd do anything to help out these victims. Hell, I'd run around naked on the streets and be arrested, if that would return everyone's lives back to normal!

There is something we can do. Ebay partnered up with a group, and they're auctioning off cool stuff (like a lightsaber replica signed by George Lucas) to go to victims. The link is here:
http://cgi3.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewUserPage&userid=nite2unite
Remember, only 4 days until the biddings end!

[Pumaman]

I can't stand these recent events. Hurricane Katrina, California landslides (BIGGER landslides, not the normal ones), and the rest of these disasters have shaken me to the core. I pray to God that this will all end soon. I can't stand natural disasters like these!

Natural disasters are inevitable; the really sad thing is that many of the deaths are avoidable. If the New Orleans flood defences had been strengthened rather than the money being diverted to the Iraq war, the results would have been far less serious. Equally, in Japan the buildings are all constructed to withstand earthquakes nowadays, and had the same been done in Pakistan we'd be looking at a much lower death toll. Same goes for the lack of a Tsunami early warning system last Christmas. None of it is rocket science, but I guess it's just the way things go that in poorer countries the funds aren't there to make it happen.

[Nikolas]

There is something we can do. Ebay partnered up with a group, and they're auctioning off cool stuff (like a lightsaber replica signed by George Lucas) to go to victims.

I fear that the bidding price will be out of this world, at least for me and maybe for most of us. But I reckon it is a good idea.

I agree with punaman and have only to say that I have been found guilty of not taken my medicine when I needed to do so (antibiotic), thus creating much bigger problem than the original. Sometimes, people tend to forget. Although I'm sure that these things should never be forgoten. But it is easy to just forget, cause natural disasters happen once in every x years.

Well maybe we should all wake up and realise that it's not x years, but x months!

[InCreator]

None of it is rocket science, but I guess it's just the way things go that in poorer countries the funds aren't there to make it happen

While some countries have too much money, so they spend it on pointless warfare...