Power Line: Earthquake Toll Nearing 10,000

December 26, 2004

Earthquake Toll Nearing 10,000

Glenn Reynolds has been staying on top of the earthquake/tsunami story. The earthquake, off the coast of Sumatra, was apparently the most powerful since 1964. It caused 20-foot high tidal waves to radiate toward coastal areas around the Indian Ocean.

Bloggers in Indonesia and elsewhere in South Asia have posted first-hand observations of the disaster, and have supplied photographs, some of which have been picked up by the BBC. Check out Screenshots for updates and links to a number of bloggers on the scene.

It's always struck me that casualties resulting from natural disasters inspire less horror than those caused by violence. More people have been killed today by tidal waves in Asia than have been killed in the last year and a half of violence in Iraq. Yet it is unlikely that today's earthquake will stay in the news for more than a day or two. I'm not sure why this is, but, frankly, I share the tendency to pay much greater attention to political violence than to natural disasters. But that shouldn't make us indifferent to the tragedy suffered by so many today in South Asia.

Posted by John at 03:32 PM |

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