January 2005 ~ Natural Disasters

"In Your Memory" - a song dedicated to the victims of the tsunami

9:42 AM

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I received a email request to post this up.

Kelly Snyder, a new singer-songwriter from New York wrote and sang this very touching song that she dedicates to the victims of the asian tsunami.

Take a listen, click here or here to listen to this poignant song and accompanying photo montage that says so much about how the world feels...

People from all over the world are truly shocked and saddened by what has happened in Asia and it's really heartwarming to know that despite all the political and cultural divide that's ravaging the world today - there's still kindness out there!

Thank you Kelly and all the best in your music career. You have a truly wonderful voice.

12:58 AM

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Sorry for the irregular contribution. Not sure what to contribute 'cos mainadmin has done a good job compiling all the important news. But there is something that I would like to share with all the Penangites. This is just my personal thoughts related to the tsunami aftermath.

Since the fateful day until now, a month later, I have not taken my children to the beach. Usually, we will go to the beach every weekend, fishing, playing in the sands, swimming or just hanging around. We usually go to Sungai Batu in Teluk Kumbar, behind Dalat School and also Miami Beach. But now...*sigh* we seems to be hanging around shopping malls. Probably because of the heatwave too.

It is time we get back to the beach. Picnics, swimming, building sand-castles, so many things to do at the beaches of Penang.

5:56 AM

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JAKARTA, Indonesia. -- For those looking to make a buck, head to tsunami-wrecked Sumatra. A land in need of plenty. This disaster, like others before it, has its long list of profiteers. Some are black market vendors making money off misery: pirated DVDs of the tsunami's real-life horror show are now on sale in Indonesia, Thailand and India. But there are also people and companies making legitimate profit from the business of disaster relief. Aid agencies distributing critical food and medical supplies are doing much of their buying locally - pumping millions of dollars into companies that make the dried noodles, rice, mineral water and medicine that gets handed out to survivors. USAID, the American government's foreign aid agency, has spent $39 million in Indonesia since the disaster struck, spokeswoman Roberta Rossi said by telephone from Banda Aceh. Buying supplies is only part of the expense. Cartons of aid need to be delivered in vehicles, and the agency allocated $1 million just to cover the rental of 80 trucks and drivers, Rossi said. Acehnese who speak English are also in high demand by aid agencies and journalists who need translators. The going rate is $50 a day - the rough equivalent of a civil servant's monthly wage in pre-disaster Aceh.

Read the full article here.

5:40 AM

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New York. The host of a New York morning radio show and the rest of her on-air crew were suspended indefinitely Wednesday for airing a tasteless song parody that mocked victims of the catastrophic South Asia tsunami. The song included references to "screaming chinks" and orphaned children "sold into child slavery." The chorus began, "So now you're screwed, it's a tsunami, you'd better run ... go find your mommy." The song, a parody of the charity single "We Are the World," aired last Friday on Emmis station WQHT-FM, known locally as Hot 97. The station was subsequently flooded with thousands of angry phone calls demanding the firing of morning show host Tarsha Jones, known on air as Miss Jones and her sidekick Todd Lynn.

Read the full article here.

12:04 AM

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Indonesia. A group of IT techies are setting up wireless Internet kiosks across the Aceh city for aid groups and journalists. The group named The Aceh Media Center (acehmedia center.or.id/eng/) boasted more than 100,000 hits in less than a month of operations. The site includes frequent news updates and has a database of missing persons. Relief groups say that the service has been invaluable in helping them do their work as Banda Aceh slowly rebounds. Distribution and coordination were the biggest hurdles as some people gets rice and needed water; and others got water and needed rice.

The Aceh Media Center is still recruiting help to drive its expansion across the province, asking donors for 40 to 80 laptops, five global-positioning systems, five satellite phones, six pairs of wireless communications, and 20 walkie-talkies, among other things. They also want a solar panel and electrical generators to power the venture.

11:52 PM

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Malaysia. All funds for local tsunami victims, including those set up by the media, must be closed by Feb 1. Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak, who issued the directive yesterday, said that the last date for the collection of such tsunami-related funds was Jan 31. �After that, all these funds must be closed because the collection to date is more than adequate. We cannot have funds that are open-ended because that will give rise to the possibility of abuse,� he said after chairing a National Disaster Committee meeting here yesterday. He, however, said that organisers of funds for tsunami victims in other countries would be allowed to continue collecting donations. Najib said the collection for local tsunami victims currently stood at almost RM80mil, with nearly half of it already disbursed to the victims through the National Disaster Fund. He said that the committee, at the meeting, also approved aid for local tsunami victims whose household goods were lost or damaged in the disaster. Those who suffered losses of RM2,000 or more would receive RM2,000 while those whose losses were valued at less than RM2,000 would receive RM1,000.

Source: STAR North.

11:48 PM

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Malaysians who were still missing in the country or in other parts of the region hit by the tsunami would now be considered dead. To date, 12 Malaysians are still missing � six in Penang and Kedah; and the rest in Phuket, Aceh and Sri Lanka. Their family members were urged to lodge police reports so that they would be eligible to receive the RM20,000 aid from the National Disaster Fund and other national aids.

Source: The STAR.

12:34 PM

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Dark stories of ghosts has been spreading like wildfire at the beach resorts that were hit by the tsunami. Many locals in Phuket and Khao Lak claim that they have had ghostly sightings and meetings. One taxi driver in Phuket told a story of having picked up a foreigner and his Thai girlfriend, they were both heading to airport and when the driver turn around to collect his fare, his passengers had dissapeared!

Another story which had been circulating told of locals hearing people crying and partying by the beach but when they went closer to have a look, there was nobody around.

Guards at a beachfront plaza in Patong told AFP one of their men had quit after hearing a foreign woman cry "help me" all night long, and similar stories abound of a foreign ghost walking along the shoreline at night calling for her child.

The local Thais and Chinese have traditionally believed that spirits of people who died violently and unexpectedly will still roam the earth not knowing that they had passed on. Whether these wandering spirits are all hearsay or just rumours caused by mass hallucination, we won't really know.

9:16 AM

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Asian tsunami toll nears 220,000 confirming worst fears

20 January 2005 1539 hrs

BANDA ACEH, Indonesia : The death toll from last month's Indian Ocean

tsunamis shot up to nearly 220,000 as Indonesia reported thousands more

deaths, confirming fears over the extent of the carnage.

Indonesia's health ministry upped its toll by almost 70,000 late Wednesday,

taking the number dead on northern Sumatra island to 166,320.

The figure, reached when thousands said to be missing were listed as dead,

conflicted with a tally of 115,000 from the social affairs department.

However it appeared to be reaching the numbers that officials including the

UN's chief humanitarian coordinator, Jan Egeland, had warned to expect.

continue reading, click here:

Asian tsunami toll nears 220,000 confirming worst fears.

3:39 AM

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Penang, Malaysia. The decomposed body fished out from the sea off the Pulau Betong coast in Penang on Thursday is said to be that of fisherman Lee Kim Lay, 56, who was swept off the beach in Gertak Sanggul when the tsunami struck on Dec 26.

Lee's body was so decomposed that only the head and the spine were intact. His wife believed that the body could be that of the husband's based on the gaps found between his teeth.

A police spokesman said DNA samples had been obtained from Lee's son for comparison.

Four people are still reported missing.

Source: The STAR

10:59 AM

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Penang, Malaysia. The seafood business in Malaysia reportedly has been hit by a post-tsunami rumour that a human finger had been found in a fish's belly.

Fish sales in Penang have plunged by about 50 per cent because of the story, The Star newspaper reported.

To counteract damage from the rumour, fish sellers served free meals to a large crowd in northern Penang state, where most of Malaysia's 68 tsunami deaths occurred.

"We hope the people will start buying fish again and ignore the rumour," said Tan Eng Wan, chairman of the Penang Association of Fish Sellers.

Hundreds of people jostled for the free food and organisers had to call in security guards to control the crowd, the newspaper said.

Source: smh.com.au.

10:50 AM

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A bunch of tourists have traded their swimsuits and sandals for shovel and boots to help rebuild Bang Tao, a village on the Thai resort island of Phuket leveled by the December 26 tsunami.

"You don't really want to be enjoying yourself while something like this is going on," said Russell Kerr, of Maghera, Northern Ireland

Richard Clinton, a policeman from Memphis, Tennessee, said he was moved to help after seeing images of the destruction. "I'm tired of just writing a check. In America, that's how we help," he said. "That's good, but this is better."

Read the full article here.

Source: CNN

10:33 AM

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Indonesia: Confirmed dead at 113,306.

Sri Lanka: The overall death toll for Sri Lanka stands at 29,825. Missing are 5,806.

India: 10,672 dead; 5,711 missing -- 5,625 on the Andaman and Nicobar Islands -- the Indian government says.

Thailand: 5,309 dead, 3,396 missing. Many of the missing are presumed dead.

Somalia: 150, according to the United Nations.

Maldives: 82 dead, 26 missing, says the Maldives' National Disaster Center.

Malaysia: 68 dead, 6 missing.

Myanmar: 59 dead, according to the International Federation for the Red Cross, which is coordinating with the Myanmar government.

Tanzania: 10 dead, according to the U.N.

Bangladesh: 2 dead, according to the U.N.

Kenya: 1 dead, according to Kenyan media.

Seychelles: 3 dead, according to the U.N.

Source: CNN

10:34 PM

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A highly decomposed body was fished out from the sea off Pulau Betong Penang here yesterday.

Marine police found the body floating among a pile of rubbish while patrolling the sea about 3.30pm.

The body, believed to be that of a child, was found with only the upper portion and the head intact. It is said to have been in the sea for two weeks.

Balik Pulau OCPD Supt Shuib Husain said the body had been sent to Penang Hospital mortuary. He said they would be calling families of missing tsunami victims to identify the body.

Source: Extracted from The STAR

6:49 AM

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I wanted to find out if Danny Khar, his wife and son are alright. He is originally from Kuala Lumpur, but was last living in Penang. If anyone knows Danny please send a message back. Thank you.

Please email Dale.

6:46 AM

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I'm trying to contact a friend called Yee Vonne Khoo who was a student of St

Hilda's College, Oxford University, England between 1999 and 2001. I really need to know that she's ok.

Please email Kulvinder.

9:20 AM

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Malaysian homegrown software developer Chrysanth Software Sdn Bhd has launched a campaign to reward caring Malaysians who have donated to the various funds for victims of the Asian tsunami.

The company will give away free copies of the commercial version of its recently-launched Chrysanth Mail Manager spam-blocking and e-mail management software to Malaysians who have donated RM50 or more to charitable organisations. The campaign ends on Feb 28.

The campaign website is here or you can also fax or e-mail a receipt of your donation to (603) 8076-2918 or tsunamidonation@chrysanth.com

Read the full article here.

Source: The STAR.

9:25 AM

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This newly released video clip shot by an amateur was first shown on Metro TV Indonesia on Sunday night. The video shows brown murky sea water racing up a busy street and consuming everything in it's path. Vehicles, motorcycles, vans, all sorts of debris and even a huge tree was carried away by the savage waves. People were scrambling to safety and one unfortunate van driver was caught right in middle of the gushing waves. Take notice of the blue van and it's driver still in it, at the beginning of the video clip.

Click here to view the video. It requires RealPlayer.

9:19 AM

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Pos Malaysia Berhad (PMB) launched a fund-raising tsunami campaign with Mercy Malaysia yesterday at the General Post Office at Dayabumi Complex here, to help the Dec 26 tsunami victims.

130 main post offices and 35 PosLaju centres nationwide operate from 8.30am to 5pm on Monday to Saturday for goods and monetary donations from the public.

The donated goods have to be in sealed boxes, labelled with its contents and addressed to "Mercy Malaysia - For Victims in Aceh, Indonesia."

As for monetary donations, the preference is for money order or postal order made payable to the "Mercy Humanitarian Fund" at a minimum of RM5. All commissions earned on the purchase of Money Order and Postal Order will be added to the fund.

Read the rest of the Malay Mail article here.

7:44 AM

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Indonesia's northern tip of Acheh has been an area embroiled by fighting between government troops and separatist groups for many years. The Indonesian authority now claims that these rebels pose as a danger to foreign aid workers, luckily, these claims have not been backed up. Indonesia is arguably the worst affected country by the deadly tsunamis and the death toll continues to rise everyday. Let's hope political and religious differences does not rear it's ugly head at such a critical time and impede the relief efforts which Indonesia so badly needs.

7:34 AM

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Interpol has set up the largest tsunami identification center in Thailand to help identify the missing locals and tourists through DNA, teeth and fingerprints.

For the full article, go here.

9:33 AM

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Two weeks after the tsunami struck countries around the Indian Ocean, thousands of survivors are now slowly returning to their homes without knowing what the future holds for them and whether their friends and relatives are alive. Staggered by the scale of the disaster, aid officials said they might have to feed as many as two million survivors a day for six months.

At least five million are now homeless in the tsunami-hit countries.

While victims of the tsunami in Malaysia and Thailand are fast getting back to their normal life with government assistance, the survivors in other places like Aceh and Sri Lanka will probably take as long as 10 years before they see full reconstruction of their districts and provinces.

Read the full article here.

Source: The STAR.

9:06 AM

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Their contributions may pale in comparison when compared to the millions that their adult counterparts are generously donating, but size doesn't always matter. Their contributions may be small but their little hearts are just as big. Children all over the world with no earning power have come out with many ingenious ways to also do their bit for humanity.

A 5-year-old Milford boy spent a chilly Sunday selling cookies and lemonade to raise money for the tsunami survivors. "There are people who don't have food or homes that need help," said Brandon Dicicco, who set up the lemonade stand on New Haven Avenue as temperatures dipped near freezing. "It's good to help other people."

In Houston,some very young Houstonians rolled out some cookie dough and baked goodies for a chance to help those tsunami victims, and they raised thousands!

1:15 AM

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sorry if this is kind of late but i just heard of it.

help needed at POHD office tonight after 7.00pm to pack lots of stuffs into at least 1000 boxes.

if you are free, do drop in.

POHD relief centre.

pusat keuskupan katolik

290 macalister road

(opposite YMCA)

thanks.

9:49 AM

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I couldn't really believe this headline when I first saw it while scouring the web. A teenager in Sri Lanka whose father, mother and seven relatives were all killed by the tidal waves had much to thank when someone saved her. She was the sole survivor of her entire family. A man reached out for her hand and dragged her to safety. This hero of a man had saved her life...or so it seems.(Please try to contain your disgust or anger when you read this article. Evil still lives amongst us.)

Read the article here.

Source: CBS News

9:07 AM

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Banda Aceh, Indonesia. Fourth-year medical student Agil Daeng may not be treating tsunami victims in hospitals, but his service is just as important � collecting corpses and body parts to prevent the spread of disease.

�As a medical student, I know I should be helping at hospitals. But many people are already here to help the sick,� said the 23-year-old student of Jakarta�s Trisakti University.

�If we do not collect the corpses fast, wabak-wabak cepat merebak (various diseases will spread),� he said, while pulling out an arm out of a mound of earth.

�Thousands of corpses were piled up everywhere. It was as though a bomb had gone off here. The bloated bodies have begun to rot,� he said.

�One pak cik�s mouth was open and maggots were crawling out, macam piring nasi tumpah dari mulutnya (like a plate of rice spilling from his mouth).�

Read the full article here.

Source: The STAR.

10:34 PM

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I am searching for a friend in KL. During the year 1987 I was in KL Taman Batu near Jinjang Selatan. I was sharing a room in their terrace house there. Her name is Easter, and she was working in the big hospital in Jalan Pahang and he by the name of Albert was working in a carpet company. She had parents in Seramban and he had all his sisters in KL. She looks like a chinese and they both a had child. Last I met them in my coffee shop in Penang with their new born child in 1991. Anyone knows their whereabout,please tell them to email me as now I am in the USA[FLORIDA].

9:10 AM

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PhuketCity - tsunami victims search. They urgently require foreign speaking volunteers

South Thailand tsunami victims search site

Thailand's official tsunami and disaster centre

9:02 AM

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A Pulau Betong fisherman said he saw unusual signs while out at sea on the day the tsunami hit Penang.

Mohd Romadzi, who is also secretary of the Pulau Betong Fishermen�s Association, said the water was unusually shallow when he set out to sea around 5.45am on Dec 26.

�Normally, I would have to really use a lot of power to get the boat out to sea but on that morning, it just glided through. I decided to go to Pasir Panjang and set out my net but all I could catch was one prawn, which was really puzzling,� said Mohd Romadzi.

Read the full article here.

Source: The STAR

9:41 PM

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The tourists can still be heard on this Thai paradise isle, only now local people say they are voices from beyond the grave. Devastated by the Indian Ocean tsunami, Koh Phi Phi, a holiday mecca typified in the Leonardo DiCaprio film "The Beach", has become an island inhabited mainly by rescue workers and ghosts. "I heard some foreigners calling out to me last night, saying 'Come on, come on, come and join our party'," said Prajit Sumta, a carpenter who is one of the few Thais to have stayed on the tiny island since the killer waves. "But then I looked round and realised I was all on my own."

Holidaymakers are not the only ones whose spirits are said to be haunting Phi Phi's palm-fringed beaches. "One of the women who worked in the bank came to me in a dream telling me that her body had not yet been found. She wanted to show me where it was," Prajit said.

Read the full article here.

Source: Reuters Alertnet

6:52 PM

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Please exercise caution and due diligence when donating to charitable organizations, or your hard-earned money could end up not in the hands of the intended tsunami victims but in the hands of heartless unscrupulous people.

At a time of unprecedented giving, the FBI warns that Internet scams are emerging. It's estimated that private donations in the United States have topped $200 million for tsunami victims. Experts warn the spirit of giving can become a breeding ground for fraud.

To avoid having the money going to scam artists, you can research the charities by going to:

Give.Org

Charitywatch.Org

FreedomCorps.Gov

Note: This notice is targetted to American donors only. Donors from other countries are advised to check with their local government authorities or donate only to reputable and well known charity organizations. Email solicitations or appeals should never be entertained.

9:27 AM

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Total number of dead: latest figures

Death toll from the Indian Ocean tsunami, according to government and health

officials

Reuters

Friday January 7, 2005 9.15am

East Africa - 137 (Including Kenya, Seychelles, Somalia, Tanzania and Madagascar)

Bangladesh - 2

Burma - 59

India - 15,684 (dead or presumed dead)

Indonesia - 101,318

Malaysia - 74

Maldives - 74

Sri Lanka - 30,680

Thailand - 5,291

Total - 153,319

7:43 AM

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found this at jeff ooi's blog. since it was a story from penang, and an interesting one, decided to post it here.

mud and makan.

for those who don't understand, 'makan' is the malay word for 'eat'.

7:18 AM

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Those who pose as tsunami victims and apply for aid do so at their own peril.

They may be jailed for up to 20 years and fined RM10,000 or five times the sum involved whichever is the higher.

Penang ACA director Abu Kassim Mohamed, who gave the warning today, said people who were not affected by the tsunami should not take advantage of the situation to make false claims as this is a serious offence.

Abu Kassim said no report had been received of such claims in the northern states of Kedah, Perak and Penang.

However, ACA officials were on the alert for any complaint or suspicion.

"If you know of any one who has made false claims, please alert us or lodge a police report. The agency will take each complaint seriously.�

He was speaking to newsmen after witnessing the handing over of duties by Perak ACA director Zainol Abdullah to Mohamed Tahir Awang Abdullah, the former Kedah ACA director.

Source: NST

7:17 AM

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Just a tourist who has spent several wonderful holidays in Penang. Hope the island and the people recover. Our thoughts are with Sparkie the tailor opposite the Holiday Inn, Staff at Parkroyal, Golden Sands and Holiday Inn. Especially thinking of Helena and her family at Helena's cafe near the Parkroyal.

McKechnie and Langridge families

7:13 AM

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Malaysia will set up a tsunami alert centre, Minister in the Prime Minister's Department Datuk Seri Nazri Aziz said today.

�We were all caught by surprise on Dec 26. We do not want this to happen again.�

He was speaking to newsmen after sending off the second batch of search and rescue volunteers to Aceh at the TUDM Subang airport.

At present, a tsunami alert centre in Hawaii collects information about possible tidal waves. Pacific Rim countries coordinate and share their observations of the activities in the ocean.

Nazri noted that one of the topics discussed at the emergency summit of world leaders in Jakarta was on having an alert centre in this region. However, its location has not been decided.

He said regardless of the outcome, Malaysia has decided to have its own tsunami alert centre.

�We do not want to be too dependent on the regional centre.�

Source: NST

7:01 AM

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A small video section has been added to the sidebar if you've missed it. Viewers are required to have Windows Media Player 9 and above installed. If you don't have this installed, you can download it HERE.

5:32 AM

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When the waves stopped battering school teacher James Mathews, he found himself surrounded by bodies. There was nothing on the horizon except a choppy sea, as every building on his island had been levelled.

Mathews, 42, was the only survivor on an Indian island of 600 people which was lashed by the December 26 tidal waves, reports said on Thursday.

Read the full article here.

Source: news24

10:02 PM

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This is an advertisement in the Star Metro Northern Region.

Personally, I feel Penang doesn't have to try so hard to make a statement like this because our island has so much to offer to tourists, overseas and local. (The advertisement is accompanied with a write up on how little we suffered from the tsunami.)

Penang has earned a name in the world now as being one of the little island slightly struck by the tsunami. Why not just boost up our promotions on the beauty of the island instead of trying to compare the devastation? We know it is a fact that Phuket, Maldives and Sri Lanka have suffered some repercussions of the tragedies and disasters. So, let us as Penangites take this opportunity to portray to the world how great we were and still are, tsunami or not. Let's try to do our bit to help the families who were affected by the tsunami to get back on their feet and look forward to promote the island.

*I am a new blogger who likes to see things differently. My postings will be mostly thoughts I have on the tsunami and how it affects laymen like me. I have just set up a new blog 'Faces of Penang' and hope to do my part in promoting the island.*

9:15 PM

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Manchester United, Chelsea, Arsenal and other English Premiership clubs pledged at least one million pounds (1.8 million dollars) in aid for victims of Asia's tsunami disaster.

All 20 clubs in the top flight have promised 50,000 pounds each to help provide relief to an area where English football is followed passionately

Read the full article here.

Source : Yahoo Sports

7:51 PM

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Rizal Shahputra, the lucky Indonesian who spent nine days sitting on a tree trunk afloat at sea and was found by a passing ship, and subsequently brought safely to Port Klang Malaysia wants to stay in Malaysia. Rizal who lost his family, some relatives and his house to the tidal waves hopes he could stay on in Malaysia as he has nothing else to go back to in Banda Aceh.

Read the full article here.

Source : The STAR

1:06 AM

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Tsunami victims, who lost their Road Transport Department (JPJ) related documents to the waves will be issued new copies free of charge.

JPJ has also set up temporary counters at relief centres to make it easier for the victims to apply for new copies of their lost documents.

Full article featured here.

Source : The STAR

1:00 AM

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The Government wants to speed up the task of meeting the basic needs of Malaysian tsunami victims before going into the second phase of providing more substantive help such as temporary homes, and aid to repair damaged boats or shops, said Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi.

He said the Cabinet, during its meeting yesterday, decided on an action plan to quicken the pace of the aid given.

�In the second phase, we want to quickly provide whatever assistance is needed to enable them to rebuild their lives. We are already working on constructing temporary homes. We can�t leave them in community and school halls, especially now that schools are reopened after the holidays,� he told reporters here.

Full article featured here.

Source: The STAR

9:46 PM

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Posted someone's encounter with Tsunami.

Quite detailed.. Survivor is a Malaysian.

URL: A Survivor's Encounter with Tsunami

9:37 PM

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11 volunteers from Penang, some medically-skilled has joined another group of 29 volunteers from other states, making up the 40-member relief team from the Malaysian Buddhist Tzu-Chi Foundation that flew to Sri Lanka yesterday for an eight-day humanitarian stint until Jan 12.

Read the full article here

Source : The STAR

9:04 PM

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I'm afraid I'm very much overdue to contact a family in Penang. I stayed

with them 29 years ago as a 20 year old exchange student and it has been

quite some time since we've corresponded. The family name is Panadam. I

don't know the mother and father's first names. I called them mom & dad

usually but Encik (Mister I think) in formal times. Their children, younger

than me at the time, would be in their 30's & 40's. Their names are Pushpa,

Rani, Siva, Kahla, Yougein (?), Ganesh & Kumar. Their address at the time

was (approximately, as time causes some memories to fade): 43 Lebuh Raya,

Jalan Jelutong, Penang, etc. I may have the address not entirely correct

as what I've listed is strictly from memory and again, it has been some

time. The mother and father would probably be in their 60's or 70's

(older?) and I would like to make sure they and their family are safe. Is

it possible to have someone in Penang look into this? My mailing address is

P.O.Box 916, Estacada, Or 97023, USA. Thank you very much.

If you have information,please mail us.

7:58 PM

Internet at Every Where

I am looking for my friend Mala Ramnauth and her sister Romie Persaud. They were on vacation in Malaysia. They left Canada on December 13, 2004. Please help.

Thank you,

Adassa Wilson

9:42 AM

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I am trying to locate my friend. His name is Zulk ab rashid and he was the

manager of the national theatre of malaysia. He was on a theatre course with

me at the arden school of theatre and was due to go back to malaysia once

the course ended in July. I am not sure whether he has gone back or not but

all attempts to reach him over here have failed. Please can you help me? My

name is Jaclyn Smith. If you have information,please contact us.

9:32 AM

Internet at Every Where

We are looking for our Aunt, Uncle and cousins.

Ahmad Suhaimy Bin Hj Ibraham, his wife Timah and thier daughter Salmee

33 Lorong Jati

43b Taman Bandar Baru

Sungai Lalang

08/00 Bedong

Kedah

Rosly Bin Ahmad Suhaimy and his wife Siti Marshinah

Husny and his wife Jamilah

Fahmy and his wife Fazilah

Zohdy and his wife Nurazizah

Zaid and his wife Halily

Last known address 250D Perak Road, Penang

Please ask them to contact; at this email in the UK or phone

Julie OLIVER 0044 2380436483 or

Jennie OLIVER 0044 2380671834 or

Sam OLIVER 0044 1732885191

7:17 AM

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Humans. Some selfish. Some selfless. Some kind. Some cruel. No human is perfect. Afterall, we are but only humans. True,none of us are perfect, but when in times of need. In the face of human tragedy,the best qualities in us are released. Compassion, kindness and generosity are openly displayed. Humans do extraordinary things when it's needed of us.

Colour, race and religion was all forgotten when Penangites in the name of humanity and in the spirit of unity got together at a community centre in Macalister Road to pack and move hundreds of boxes of relief material such as clothes, mineral water and foodstuff into containers waiting to be shipped to Sri Lanka and Indonesia.

Photo by Lucia Lai

6:39 AM

Internet at Every Where

My uncle, Ted Miles, has lived in Bentong, Pahang, Malaysia since 1953. He is well-known in the area, having been principal of the Bentong Methodist English School and written a column for the local paper (New Straits Times). He is 78 years old. I do not have a way to contact him and see if he is alright and would appreciate any assistance or information that you could give me on him. I am attaching a recent picture of him.

Thank you,

Bruce Deterding

5:57 AM

Internet at Every Where

Aid seems to be reaching Malaysians at a very slow rate.

Read about it in this article, TSUNAMI IMPACT:

Malaysian Gov't Playing Politics With Aid?

This article, 21 keluarga mangsa tsunami terbiar di Pulau Pinang

And this article, Will aid reach the victims on time?

Hopefully things will get sorted out, and fast.

5:44 AM

Internet at Every Where

The St. John Ambulance of Malaysia National Headquarters has started a Tsunami Humanitarian Relief Fund to aid the Sri Lanka victims through the St. John Ambulance Sri Lanka.

We welcome cash donations payable via a crossed cheque "SJAM Tsunami Humanitarian Relief Fund" to:

Hon. Secretary-General

St. John Ambulans Malaysia

41 Jalan Shelley

55100 Kuala Lumpur

(Donor is requested to write your name, address and contact number on the reverse to allow SJAM to post your receipt)

Cheques or cash donation may be sent to our nearest local St. John Ambulance offices nationwide.

The donation period will end January 31, 2005.

For more information, kindly contact Mr. Lai See Ming, Hon. Secretary-General at 012-311 9788.

We thank you for your kind support and contribution.

From the SJAM site.

11:54 PM

Internet at Every Where

A very interesting question asked by someone on Google Answers. It makes you wonder doesn't it. Is it really true that the US is spending more on the Iraq war than the aid package it has pledged to the tsunami victims?

Read all about it here.

11:49 PM

Internet at Every Where

They have already survived an experience that most people can scarcely imagine. But the victims of the Asian tsunami now face a new danger - criminals and opportunists trying to cash in on their misfortune.

There are already reports of looting in many of the affected countries - with homes, shops and even dead bodies being targeted. And in Sri Lanka, some of the disaster victims have allegedly been raped in refugee camps.

One of the most disturbing allegations is that criminal gangs are befriending children orphaned by the tsunami, and selling them to sex traffickers.

Read the full article here.

Source : BBC

9:35 AM

Internet at Every Where

Officials expressed surprise at many tsunami disaster sites across the region when they found no animal carcasses. Scientists believe that the animals may have sensed the waves coming and fled to higher ground. There has also been a lot of anecdotal evidence of dogs barking and birds migrating before volcanic eruptions or earthquakes.

Read the full article here.

Source : Reuters

2:00 AM

Internet at Every Where

Fishermen Fund To Help Tsunami-Hit Fishermen - Muhyiddin

KEPALA BATAS, Jan 4 (Bernama) -- The government will utilise part of the RM50 million Fishermen Fund under the Fisheries Development Authority of Malaysia (LKIM) to help more than 5,000 Tsunami-hit fishermen in four states to start their life afresh.

Agriculture and Agro-based Industries Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin said the assistance extended in the form of interest-free soft loans would be expedited to enable the fishermen to repair their damaged boats and buy new fishing equipment so that they could go out to sea for their livelihood.

"The government sympathises with the fate of the fishermen who have lost their source of income. The government will speed up disbursement of the aid to the affected fishermen," he said.

Muhyiddin said he had instructed LKIM to expedite disbursement of the cash aid so that fishing boats and engines could be repaired immediately to enable the fishermen to go about their lives.

"My ministry will ask Treasury to ease the procedures to utilise the allocation so that boats can be repaired quickly, infrastructures can be rebuilt and buy new fishing apparatus," he told a media conference after visiting Kuala Muda fishermen affected in the Dec 26 Tsunami catastrophe here Tuesday.

Source: Bernama

Original article can be read here.

1:45 AM

Internet at Every Where

I believe that Jeff Ooi has made some strong points.

Click here for the full post.

12:16 AM

Internet at Every Where

I just received this sms from maxis on my mobile:

"Join us in helping the Tsunami victims. To donate, SMS < Donate > to 22999 from now till 31/1/05. RM1 donation / SMS. Send as many times as you wish. No SMS charges."

It's great to see the mobile companies helping as well and waiving the SMS charges so the complete $1 goes to those that need it most. Let's all work together to help the Tsunami victims. Every SMS and every ringgit counts... together we can help in a BIG way. :)

12:13 AM

Internet at Every Where

The Malaysian Red Crescent Society (MRCS) wants the public to stop sending clothes and foodstuff for now as what they really need are cash, medicine and basic survival items such as sleeping bags and cooking utensils.

Other non-medicinal items needed are plastic sheets, tents, blankets, jerry-cans for water, wet suits, pain tablets, antibiotics such as Amoxcillin and Panadol, oral rehydration salt, diarrhoea and wind tablets such as Imodium, masks, gloves, gauze and cotton.

Its National Disaster Management Committee chairman Dr S. Selva Jothi said these were needed to help the tsunami victims. The items would be shipped in stages to Banda Aceh, where MRCS is focusing its relief work.

�We really appreciate and are touched by the generosity shown by the public but please stop sending us clothes and food items for now except for baby formula as we have more than enough at the moment.

�The cash would go a long way in helping these victims, especially during the reconstructive phase next month as their homes and facilities need to be rebuilt,� he said here yesterday.

Full article featured here

Source: The STAR

12:11 AM

Internet at Every Where

Four Malaysians who were originally listed as missing after last Sunday's tsunami in Chennai, South India, are safe and sound.

The family � husband and wife R. Shanmugam, 56, and S. Saraswathy, 50, along with their two children � will be flying home tomorrow, said Shanmugam�s younger brother Subramaniam.

�They called and said they were not affected,� he said when contacted yesterday.

According to Subramaniam, they were at a hill resort around 600km away from Chennai when the tsunami struck.

Malaysian consul-general in Chennai Mohd Yusof Ahmad confirmed that the family was safe, and said they were still trying to locate another missing person, identified as Elizabeth John.

He said anyone with information on her whereabouts could contact the Foreign Affairs Ministry at Wisma Putra at tel: 03-8887-4000.

Eight other Malaysians are also on the �missing persons� list � five in Phuket and three in Aceh.

Source: The STAR

12:03 AM

Internet at Every Where

Penang Island,Malaysia. The marine police are continuing their search for the rest of the tsunami victims reported missing. They five still missing are Ooi Ze Ye, 7, and his cousins Choon Beng, 10, and Choon Wei, six, from Berapit, Lee Kim Lay, 56, from Gertak Sanggul, and Nor Hanizah Mohd Zabdi, 18, from Kampung Genting, Balik Pulau.

A highly decomposed body was found off Pulau Aman yesterday evening and the authorities urge family members who are still looking for their loved ones to identify the body at the Penang General Hospital.

Read the full story here

Source : The STAR

12:03 AM

Internet at Every Where

Her first words were: �Aku dari Aceh (I am from Aceh)�, which stunned her rescuers because they had found her at sea, 100 nautical miles (185km) out from where she last stood five days earlier.

The crew of the Hoom Xiang 8, a Malaysian-registered fishing vessel, immediately radioed the Batu Maung port authorities here of the rescue of Malawati of Kampung Denon in Banda Aceh.

Of the many stories of how victims of the Dec 26 earthquake and tsunami survived, hers is perhaps one of the most awe-inspiring and incredible.

The 23-year-old woman was at home when she was swept to sea. But as luck would have it, she was able to cling to an uprooted nipah palm which had clusters of fruit on it. That palm was instrumental in her survival.

Malawati told crewman Rizal Sarnosantoso, 22, who spotted her waving frantically at the vessel at about 2pm last Friday, that she drank rainwater and ate the fruit of the palm (nypah fruticans) which Malaysians call attap chee. It is often added in local desserts like ais kacang.

By the time the Hoom Xiang 8 chanced upon her, she had floated out into the open water of the Indian Ocean. She was weak and de- hydrated.

News of her miraculous rescue had spread so that when the vessel docked at the Malaysian International Tuna Port in Batu Maung at 2.10pm yesterday, paramedics, pressmen, state officials and representatives from the Indonesian consulate were waiting to meet her.

Full story featured here

Source : The STAR

11:54 PM

Internet at Every Where

The tally of foreigners confirmed dead from the quake and tsunamis throughout southern Asia, according to their countries' foreign ministries.

Source : The STAR

11:43 PM

Internet at Every Where

http://photos.yahoo.com/tsunami_asia

9:16 PM

Internet at Every Where

In India, a yellow dog named Selvakumar saved the life of a boy. Tsunami waves were rushing into the house and the canine did everything it could to help the boy escape the waves. Nipping, nudging and even to the extend of grabbing the boy's collar and dragging him to safety. Once again, man's best friend has proven themselves to be worthy companions.

Photo courtesy of AP

Read the full article here

10:19 AM

Internet at Every Where

Before the tsunami

Source : DigitalGlobe

After the tsunami

Source : DigitalGlobe

10:00 AM

Internet at Every Where

Follow this link to view a interactive multimedia representation of the infamous earthquake and resulting tsunami that has changed the world forever. Take note that the death tolls shown within are outdated.

Source from The New York Times

9:51 AM

Internet at Every Where

A British man has been found out to be behind 35 emails sent to family and friends of missing which purported to be from the "Foreign Office Bureau" in Thailand. These emails were sent to people who had placed appeals for information on a website set up by Sky News television.

The British government would not use email to convey news of the death of a loved one

More information can be found in this article from NEWS.com.au

The site, www.incybernet.com, features the Red Cross appeal logo, but it is not affliated with the Red Cross in any way. DO NOT donate any cash to them.

E-mails falsely claiming to be from Oxfam and urging people to donate money were also being sent in Hong Kong. These e-mails directed well-intentioned donors to deposit money in a bank account in Cyprus.

Authorities do not know yet just how much these hoaxes have ripped off donors.

Hoax mobile messages are going around in Singapore and India (and now Friendster too), with this message: "Alert everyone: very dangerous virus, Zulican virus is spreading through seafood. So please avoid eating seafood and pass this message to all of your friends."

There is NO SUCH virus and there is nothing wrong with the fish.

More information can be found on NEWS.com.au in this article.

It's just disgusting how some idiots can take advantage of well-meaning people.

9:48 AM

Internet at Every Where

The St. John Ambulance Malaysia of Kawasan Pantai Selangor has stopped accepting donations as they have limited transportation and storage.

8:25 AM

Internet at Every Where

: (

5:23 AM

Internet at Every Where

this is a good informative website on the tsunami in thailand. lots of details can be found there.

sawadee.com

4:14 AM

Internet at Every Where

Searchers today all but gave up hope of finding more survivors from last week's devastating tsunamis, as the death toll across nearly a dozen Asian and African nations neared 150,000.

Indonesia added another 14,000 people to the official count, while Sri Lanka, India and Thailand said they were preparing to give up on more than 15,000 still unaccounted for.

But even as the search for survivors gave way to clearing wreckage, the Indian army today reported that four Indonesians had turned up alive near a remote Indian Ocean island after drifting for more than a week in a small motor boat. A military spokesman said the Indian coastguard was bringing the men to Port Blair, capital of the hard-hit Andaman and Nicobar islands.

The independent Indian television station Aaj Tak reported that the four men could barely speak and would only say "Indonesia" when asked their names.

More from Guardian Unlimited.

12:05 AM

Internet at Every Where

The Malaysian Red Crescent Society(MRCS) has made an appeal to the public to donate cash instead of clothes and goods as their collection centers are now flooded with those items which were no longer needed by the victims.

The cash donated could go a long way in helping the victims rebuild their lives.

The MRCS will now concentrate its efforts on Acheh, which has been hardest hit by the disaster.

Those wishing to help the MRCS by contributing or volunteering can call the MRCS at its hotline at 03-4257 8726 or go to MRCS headquarters in Jalan Nipah, off Jalan Ampang.

Information courtesy of The Sun in this article.

11:58 PM

Internet at Every Where

Via Xfresh.com

NATIONAL TSUNAMI DISASTER FUND

1. Donations are by cheque only

2. Cheques should be made out to The New Straits Times Press (M) Berhad.

3. All cheques to sent toNST-BH office at 31, Jalan Riong, 59100, Kuala Lumpur OR TV3 and 8TV offices at Sri Pentas, Bandar Utama, 47800 Petaling Jaya.

4. On the back of the cheque please write : "NST-BH-TV3-8TV Malaysian Tsunami Disaster Fund� / �Tabung Bencana Alam Tsunami NST-BH-TV3-8TV�

5. For more details they can also call 03-77266333

6. The funds collected will be handed over to the �National Disaster Management and Relief Committee� / �Jawatankuasa Pengurusan dan Bantuan Bencana Pusat� headed by YAB Deputy Prime Minister Dato� Sri Najib Tun Razak.

11:43 PM

Internet at Every Where

Celcom customers can donate RM5 to the Malaysian Tsunami Disaster Fund by typing �derma� and sending the SMS to 33699. The amount would either go on their postpaid cellular bill or be deducted from their prepaid account.

The company assured donors that the entire RM5 would go to the fund, but the normal 15sen charge for sending the SMS would still apply.

Maxis has a similar donation drive for its customers, but inform customers that the normal charge of 15 sen would still apply. The company intends to waive the charge completely, but cannot do so until seveal technical issues are resolved.

Maxis would also forgo its 30% cut of the usual 30:70 revenue-sharing agreements it has with third-party content providers for premium SMS services.

As for DiGi, all SMSes sent via their donation drive that are acknowledged will also cost 15 sen.

On the other hand, AMP (Airtime Media Productions), a wholly owned subsidary of Astro, has also set up Tsunami 26/12 Fund, to which people can send RM1 donations via SMS. Being a thrid party donation drive, The SMSes are subject to charges from the various cell phone carriers.

This means that not all of the RM 1 that is donated via SMS will reach the intended party.

Charged incured vary from telco to telco.

Information courtesy of The Star's TechCentral in this article.

9:28 PM

Internet at Every Where

The most effective way to support the children and people affected by the Asian tsunami tragedy is through monetary donations. Unicef is relying on contributions worldwide from individuals , governments, corporations and NGOs to continue its vital relief efforts in Asia. Help Unicef help the chidren:

* RM20 can provide an emergency health kit for one person for three months, with medical supplies to cover basic health needs.

* RM330 can provide a basic family water kit for 10 households, with detergent, soap, wash basin, towels, buckets and water purification tablets.

* RM710 can provide one "School-in-a-Box" kit containing basic education supplies for 80 children.

Ways to support:

1.Credit card donation via Unicef website www.unicef.org

2.Cheque donation through the Unicef Office in your country, payable to "United Nations Children's Fund". On the back of the cheque, please write "Asian TsunamiRelief Work".

In Malaysia, send to: Unicef Malaysia, Wisma UN, Block C, 2nd Floor, Kompleks Pejabat Damansara, Jalan Dungun, Damansara Heights, 50490 Kuala Lumpur.

For further enquiries, call Unicef at 03-20959154 or communications officer Indra Nadchatram at 013-3663452.

7:37 PM

Internet at Every Where

Greetings everyone,

I've found a good site that provides information of missing persons, unclaimed deceased patients and warded patients in Thailand.

For anyone who are looking lost people in Thailand, this is a good place to start.

They also allow people to post pictures and messages to look for lost loved ones.

The URL: http://www.vachiraphuket.go.th/

Hope everyone finds the people they are looking for.

7:35 PM

Internet at Every Where

A victim of the tsunami died in a hospital in north state of Kedah on Sunday, bringing Malaysia's death toll to 67 after the tidal waves hit the west coast of the country last Sunday.

Sungai Petani Hospital Director Harif Fadzillah confirmed that the latest casualty was Rodziah Abdullah, 57, from Kampung Kepala Jalan, Kota Kuala Muda.

"Rodziah died this morning after being in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) for a week. Two other victims in ICU are in stable condition," he was quoted by Malaysia National News Agency as saying.

He said they were Rodziah's grandson, Muhammad Umar Adani Johari, 3, and her daughter, Habsah Baharom, 33, while four other tsunami victims were at the normal ward.

The tsunami claimed 11 people in Kedah, one of Malaysian three worst-hit states.

The tsunami death toll in the country rose to 66 last Wednesday,announced by the Malaysian Control Center in the federal police headquarters.

The tsunami, triggered by a massive earthquake in Indian Ocean near Indonesian island of Sumatra last Sunday, struck several states on the country's west coast.

Most public celebrations to usher in 2005 had been cancelled or postponed following a call by Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi that prayers be conducted instead, as a mark of respect for victims of the killer tsunami.

Source: Xinhua Net

7:25 PM

Internet at Every Where

Looking out at the vast blue sea from the rescue boat, foreman Ooi Kean Guan repeatedly burst into tears.

It dawned on him that he might not be able to find the bodies of his son and nephews, who were still missing after they fell victim to the might of tsunami last Sunday.

�I want to find my son. I must find the children but I don�t know how,� sobbed Kean Guan.

Kean Guan, 35, was on a Fire and Rescue Department boat to search for his son, Zi Ye, seven, and nephews, Choon Beng, 10, and Choon Wei, six, yesterday.

Kean Guan's wife Lina Lee, 35, mother Ang Poh Choo, 69, and niece Swee Kee, 12, were also killed by the giant waves while picnicking at the Pasir Panjang beach in Balik Pulau.

Source: The STAR

7:23 PM

Internet at Every Where

Than Hsiang Vegetarian Canteen launched a charity sale drive to raise fund in aid of the victims in Penang Island. The charity sale commenced on 30 December 2004 and will continue until further notice. Than Hsiang Temple will absorb all costs. Come help us help the victims by taking your meals here. The canteen operates from 9.00 a.m. to 8.00 p.m.

Menu for 3-1-2005

??? Fried Ramen

???? Jagung Cake

???? Jam Cake

???? Butter Cake

??? Red Bean Soup

??? Tapioca Kuih Beng Ka

????? White Fungus Dessert

For further info, please go to http://www.thanhsiang.org

7:08 PM

Internet at Every Where

Housing and Local Government Minister Datuk Seri Ong Ka Ting has directed the Fire and Rescue Department to continue searching for the state�s five missing tsunami victims.

He said it should not slow down its search and rescue operations.

�Don�t stop until a new directive has been given,� said Ong, who is also MCA chairman, at the Balik Pulau Sports Complex yesterday before joining the department�s air unit in a helicopter search at the Pasir Panjang beach, where the victims were reported missing.

The five are Ooi Zi Ye, seven, and his cousins Choon Beng, 10, and Choon Wei, six, all from Berapit, Lee Kim Lay, 56, from Gertak Sanggul, and Nor Hanizah Mohd Zabidi, 18, from Kampung Genting, Balik Pulau.

Source: The STAR

6:58 PM

Internet at Every Where

We're in Phuket right now and it's hard to contact anyone due to the

failure of communication networks.

Sophia Michl is 10 years olds. She is German. She's looking for her parents, Mr.Norbert and Mrs.Edeltraud Michl.

Please contact Dr. Anuroj Tharasiriroj of Phuket International

Hospital, +66 76 249-400, http://www.phuket-inter-hospital.co.th

Attached below are her pictures.

6:49 PM

Internet at Every Where

Malaysians should not go around thinking the country is free from natural disasters such as earthquakes, said a Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia don.

Geologist Prof Dr Ibrahim Komoo dispelled assumptions that Malaysia had never experienced earthquakes.

"If an earthquake measuring 9.0 on the Richter cale occurs in Sumatra, then Penang, for example, will experience an earthquake in the 5.0 or 6.0 magnitude

"It was an earthquake we suffered when we felt the vibrations on Dec 26th," he said.

As such, he added, Malaysia would have to shed its complacent mentality and develop measures to handle natural disasters from now on.

"We have to move out of our comfort zone and think like a natural disaster-prone country," he said.

Prof Ibrahim said as an immediate measure, the authorities should develop an early warning system to be better prepared for disasters which might hit the country in the future.

"We must link up with the international community to develop a monitoring mechanism for tsunamis.

"The country doesn't have to invest in setting up monitoring stations. We can co-operate with and learn from others and link up with them instead of reinventing the wheel," he said.

A policy on disaster prevention, he added, was not meant to stop natural disasters but to minimise loss of lives and property.

Source: The STAR

12:00 PM

Internet at Every Where

The number of victims of the Asian tsunami needing food stands at 1.8 million and could rise further, a United Nations official said on Sunday.

He said relief could be provided to 700,000 people in Sri Lanka within about three days. It would take much longer to reach the 1 million people who need food in Indonesia.

More on this Reuter article

11:42 AM

Internet at Every Where

The muhibbah (unity regardless of race or religion) spirit could not be stronger during the tsunami disaster here, with strangers knocking on doors of wrecked homes in seaside villages to offer help. �Three Chinese men came with packets of food after the giant waves hit our village and asked whether we had eaten. They gave us rice, mineral water and fruits,� Kampung Tanjung Tokong resident Sharina Md Saad, 35, said yesterday. The mother of two had finished registering her youngest daughter Nur Izzah Nabila, seven, for Year One at SK Tanjung Tokong. The school also temporarily doubled up as a relief centre for the homeless victims. Her daughter was wearing an old faded uniform donated by strangers but Sharina did not mind as she rummaged among used clothes piled up at the school compound in search of a uniform for her Form One son.

Like Sharina, many affected parents at the village have more to worry about when the new school term starts tomorrow. Apart from SK Tanjung Tokong, SK Tanjung Bungah and SK Kuala Muda on the mainland had also been turned into relief centres. After the disaster struck, non-governmental organisations like the Buddhist Tzu-Chi Merits Society Malaysia had been at the forefront of humanitarian work offering emotional support, food, clothes and financial aid to victims at their homes or relief centres. Tzu-Chi volunteers armed with shovels, rakes and brooms trudged into wrecked villages to clean up the mud-caked houses and transfer crushed concrete and debris to the roadside for the local government workers to remove using trucks. A team from the Persatuan Kontraktor Perkhidmatan Pembersihan Pulau Pinang was also seen volunteering their services at Kampung Tanjung Tokong. Fishermen at the Tanjung Bungah fishing village near the new floating mosque praised the good work of the Tzu-Chi group and a Christian group who worked tirelessly to clean up their village without seeking any credit or publicity. �Strangers came to help us, yet our own village security and development committee did nothing but only showed their faces when the Prime Minister came to visit,� fisherman Rashid Tahir, 46, said with disappointment.

Source : The STAR

11:26 AM

Internet at Every Where

�Thulishi, ma� (Thulishi, dear), called A. Suppiah, trying to stir his 27-day-old �miracle baby� from her slumber. The proud father�s eyes sparkled as he called out his baby�s name. His �gift from above,� Thulishi floated back home to safety on a mattress after waves flooded the family�s shack-cum-food shop along Miami Beach in Batu Feringghi last Sunday. �Thulishi was sleeping on a small mattress inside the shack when the force of the waves broke down the door,� Suppiah, 55, recounted. �The waves then withdrew, taking my daughter and the mattress out into the sea. �The waves then rolled again towards the shore, and the mattress floated in with the surge right into the shack through another door!

�What�s more, the pressure of the water inside the shack then slammed the door shut and effectively kept Thulishi safe,� he said. His wife Annalmary Lurdu, 42, said she became hysterical when she could not find her baby. �I was inside another room and I thought she was gone,� said Annalmary as she carefully cradled her sleeping baby. �I didn�t want people to know I had a baby at this age,� rejoined Suppiah. �But it seems like the whole world now knows! Someone from the BBC even called me up from Britain to hear my story.� His family is now putting up at his mother-in-law�s flat in Tanjung Bungah and relatives are all gathered to share in the joy.

Source : The STAR

9:00 AM

Internet at Every Where

Deaths by country:

Indonesia: 79,906, with another 3,598 missing.

Sri Lanka: 46,229. Officials say 28,229 are reported dead in non-rebel-controlled areas; 5,240 are missing; 16,665 injured; and 899,408 are homeless.

India: At least 10,000

Thailand: 4,812. Thai prime minister says toll could exceed 8,000. 6,541 are missing, more than 3,000 of them Swedish tourists.

Malaysia: 66

Maldives: 74

Myanmar: 90

Tanzania: 10

Bangladesh: 2

Somalia: Kenyan media reports hundreds dead.

Kenya: Kenyan media reports one death.

Seychelles: Unconfirmed reports of deaths.

The total number of those confirmed dead has risen to above 141,000, and the numbers are still rising.

Statistics courtesy of CNN.com

7:39 AM

Internet at Every Where

In Aceh, which was closest to the epicentre of the deep-sea temblor which registered 9.0 on the Richter scale and triggered the waves, volunteers desperately tried to bury thousands of corpses rotting in tropical temperatures in hopes of curbing the spread of disease.

Junaidi, 26, survived the tsunamis that killed up to 100,000 in Indonesia but now sits helplessly in a Red Crescent field hospital in Banda Aceh with wounds oozing with pus and lungs gasping for air.

"I swallowed dirty water and the doctor said I have problems with my lungs and my stomach lining is damaged," he said.

Agoes Kooshartoro, who leads about 100 Indonesian Red Crescent volunteers in Aceh, said many others were also suffering disease, particularly of the lungs, after the tsunamis swept away the sanitation infrastructure.

"Over the past five days many people have died because of this. They survived the waves, but they died of infections and breathing failure. There are many stories like that and we have seen such incidents," he said.

The World Health Organisation said it was also seeing growing reports of potentially deadly diarrhea outbreaks in displacement camps in Sri Lanka and India.

"It needs a few more days before we can state that we are confident that we've been able to avoid major outbreaks of disease," David Nabarro, the top WHO official dealing with humanitarian crises, told reporters in Geneva.

Source: Agence France-Presse by Ian Timberlake

http://www.reliefweb.int

7:31 AM

Internet at Every Where

MSF is increasing aid efforts along the coastline of Banda Aceh in the north Sumatra region, closest to the earthquake epicentre.

In addition to its mobile medical teams in Banda Aceh, Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF) yesterday also brought a mobile clinic to the remote costal town of Lhok Timon. The team was dropped by the MSF helicopter, with materials for medical consultations. They also brought 120 kilos of rice to a population of 1,500 people, who for five consecutive days have been living on coconuts and bananas.

This is the region closest to the epicentre of the December 26 earthquake and tsunami that has devasted the coastlines of countries in the Bay of Bengal.

According to the MSF team, the population is living in appalling conditions, with around 20 families to a hut and people being forced to use plastic bags for additional shelter.

MSF will drop a water and sanitation team plus a medical team in Lhok Timon in the coming days, as well as further medical teams in other locations along the western coast.

Meanwhile, the mobile clinics in Banda Aceh continue. On Saturday, two teams provided 293 consultations for people left homeless by the tsunami in three different sites. The main three pathologies were wounds (bruises, burns and cuts often infected after the delay in treatment), respiratory tract infections and skin diseases (a common phenomenon where people huddle together under poor conditions).

One 15-year old boy's leg was so infected after injury that MSF immediately transported him to a hospital in Banda Aceh for further treatment. His sister, who had brought him to the MSF team, travelled with him.

An MSF psychologist also organized a one hour session in which 15 people received support in dealing with their traumatic experiences. All people treated by MSF had experienced mental trauma.

Note: For those that do not know what MSF is;

M�decins Sans Fronti�res (MSF) is an international humanitarian aid organisation that provides emergency medical assistance to populations in danger in more than 80 countries. In countries where health structures are insufficient or even non-existant, MSF collaborates with authorities such as the Ministry of Health to provide assistance. MSF works in rehabilitation of hospitals and dispensaries, vaccination programmes and water and sanitation projects. MSF also works in remote health care centres, slum areas and provides training of local personnel. All this is done with the objective of rebuilding health structures to acceptable levels.

For more info: http://www.msf.org/home.cfm

7:29 AM

Internet at Every Where

There is a regional information and resource page for the tsunami disaster on Malaysia Central at http://www.mycen.com.my/tsunami.html.

It contains phone numbers of the Malaysian Operations Rooms/Rescue Coordinations, Malaysian High Commission / Consulates and Government Ministries & Bodies.

It also has links to a comprehensive list of Penang Hospitals, Donation Drives, Local Relief Agencies/NGOs as well as Local News & Info, Malaysian Media & Press Releases.

They also have regional hotline numbers, and links for Aid, Relief, Donations, Fund Raising; Help, Missing Lists, Info & Resoures; Casualty / Impact / Contact Information by Country; About Tsunamis; Tsunami News and also Tsunami Stories, Pics & Videos.

7:28 AM

Internet at Every Where

Internet connection has been established in the Post Office in Banda Aceh.

This internet connection can be used for free by anyone for free.

Please proceed to the post office or call 0651-27161 or mobile 0811232429.

Source: Yusuf Hendriarto, hendriarto@telkom.co.id - Jan 1 2005. 6.08 pm.

After a 6 hours journey through the west coast of Aceh, the IT Volunteer Team of Airputih reached Aceh. The team worked for 4 hours and managed to connect VSAT via PSN Bina. The capacity of 128 kbps is enabled by NOC PSN in Jakarta. The volunteer team is considering opening a Media Centre in Aceh.

SOURCE: http://aceh.abangadek.com

7:22 AM

Internet at Every Where

BANDA ACEH, Indonesia, Jan 2 (Reuters) - Help finally came from the sky on Sunday for Indonesian villages in an area washed flat by the tsunami a week ago, but it grew clearer no amount of aid could stop more loss of life throughout the disaster zone.

Starving people besieged U.S. and Indonesian military helicopters carrying food and clean water as they managed to land for the first time along Sumatra's north-west coast. Over half the 129,817 known victims of the killer waves perished there.

It was a small start, but U.N. officials said it could be two more weeks before some stricken communities were reached, giving dehydration, disease and hunger time to add their own toll.

UNICEF said reports were coming in of children starting to die of pneumonia in the area, where Indonesia said so many people were dead in one city it would be abandoned as a ghost town.

In places near Banda Aceh, capital of north Sumatra's Aceh province, wild scenes meant aid deliveries had to be aborted.

"A few helicopters have tried to land in the coastal villages outside of Banda Aceh but mobs on the ground desperate for the supplies prevented them from landing," the U.N. World Food Programme said.

In Sri Lanka, which lost some 30,000 citizens, nature stayed cruel as torrential rains flooded refugee camps.

"We already lost our homes. We came here then the rains came and took away our bundles, everything we had left," said G.K. Sambasivam, 65, dozens of whose relatives are missing.

Fears also grew for people in uncontactable parts of India's remote Andaman and Nicobar islands. Rescuers used small rubber and wooden boats to reach islands where roads are impassable.

The U.S. aircraft carrier Abraham Lincoln, now anchored off Indonesia's Sumatra island, significantly boosted aid operations.

"A major change has been the arrival of the American ship with helicopters which have been able to reach the west coast," said Michael Elmquist, head of U.N. disaster relief in Indonesia.

"The logistical situation is looking a lot better than it did a couple of days ago ... Things are improving slowly."

Captain Larry Burt, commander of a helicopter air wing on the Lincoln, said he had seen bodies 20 miles out to sea.

"You just cannot describe it," he said. "Above the water line there are people standing there waving flags trying to signal us. There are so many, you just can't stop for all of them."

His flights are part of the world's largest postwar aid operation, with $2 billion pledged so far, battling logistical nightmares to deliver aid to some 5 million people.

SOURCE: Reuters

Read More: http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/L01669416.htm

7:14 AM

Internet at Every Where

Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi and Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao are among six world leaders who have confirmed they will attend an international summit in Jakarta this week to discuss the distribution of more than $2 billion in pledged aid to tsunami victims.

The U.S. hasn't announced whether it will participate. U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell and Florida Governor Jeb Bush, brother of President George W. Bush, left today to visit devastated areas in southern Asia, where 150,000 people perished after a magnitude-9 earthquake triggered tsunamis seven days ago.

Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono prepares for the international conference as the first rescuers to reach survivors in remote areas of his country reported destruction defying description.

``The scale of the damage is beyond words,'' said Andi Hanindito, an Indonesian government official who's helping coordinate delivery of aid in Aceh province, where about 80,00 people died in coastal regions.

Japan became the biggest of 44 donor nations after pledging $500 million this weekend. The U.S. has promised $350 million, the U.K. $96 million and Sweden $75 million. China increased its contribution 23-fold to $60 million two days ago, and Taiwan upped its pledge 10-fold to $50 million today.

Reconstruction, Debt

The summit will focus on reconstruction after the world's worst natural disaster in 30 years, installation of the first tsunami warning system in the Indian Ocean and possible debt rescheduling with international lenders, Indonesia Foreign Minister Hassan Wirajuda told MetroTV in Jakarta.

``This tidal wave simply underlines the lessons we've been learning in the last 10 years,'' Bruce Gale, a Singapore-based political risk analysts with Hill & Associates. ``We had SARS, the haze, terrorism and now all this. All of them point to the same thing: Governments need to get together to ensure effective cooperation.''

Aid has been pouring in, sometimes beyond the means of relief agencies to deliver it quickly to areas beset by monsoon rains, washed-out roads, flattened infrastructure and destroyed communications facilities, charitable organizations said.

``Aceh's situation is beyond what we could ever have imagined,'' Megan Chisholm, senior emergencies officer with CARE Australia, said in a phone interview from Canberra. ``Staff there today said Aceh is annihilated. Access was delayed for days because roads and other infrastructure were wiped out.''

The Hong Kong chapter of Medecins Sans Frontieres, which says it was one of the first aid groups to reach Aceh, called off fundraising because it said it had more donations that it has the resources to use in stricken areas.

Source: Bloomberg.com (to read more, go to http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=10000087&sid=aWIu2GN_tLKA&refer=top_world_news)

6:23 AM

Internet at Every Where

BURMA'S TSUNAMI VICTIMS AND COASTAL COMMUNITIES NEED YOUR HELP

REPORTS OF:

� 90+ deaths (likely much higher)

� at least 1,500+ missing

� 17 coastal villages confirmed destroyed (likely more)

Dear Friends and Supporters,

This is an urgent appeal for help for some of the poorest of the poor.

The world is focused on the South Asia disaster, and the death tolls from Thailand, Sri Lanka, India and Indonesia are mounting by the hour. Virtually no information or first-hand accounts have come out of Burma, however.

Nonetheless, a quick look at the map shows that southern Burma had to be terribly affected by the tsunami (some good additional maps can be found at Relief Web). The Burmese islands and coastline around the Andaman Sea are just slightly north of the Thai resort of Phuket, which was devastated. In that area of Burma, a unique seafaring people known as the Sea Gypsies (Salone, or Moken) have lived simple lives dependent on fishing for centuries. Their lives will never be the same.

The Foundation for the People of Burma needs your help. Our medical team will be in the affected area next month. With your help, we can alleviate some of the suffering that has resulted from this disaster. With enough support and local participation we can help the people there rebuild their communities for a better future.

All of your contributions go directly to alleviate suffering. The low administrative overhead of the Foundation is fully funded by private donors.

Please consider making a special, tax-deductible contribution now.

Funds may be sent to:

FOUNDATION FOR THE PEOPLE OF BURMA

Burma Tsunami Relief Fund

909 Montgomery Street, Suite 500

San Francisco, CA 94133

415-486-6527 ph

415-486-6786 fax

www.foundationburma.org

IRS EIN: 94-3375666

Contacts:

Hal Nathan, President: (415) 486-6516

Heather Graham, Executive Director: (415) 486-6527

Helen Gunthorpe, M.D., Medical Director (415) 713-4728

Checks should be made payable to: Foundation for the People of Burma. Please specify whether you would like your donation to be used toward the Burma Tsunami Relief Fund, or general programs.

Donations in the form of cash wires and stock transfers are also welcome. Please contact us for account instructions. Donations with your credit card can be made via the DONATE box on the website. (Checks or wires are preferred, however, since there is a small administrative fee taken out by JustGive, the nonprofit that processes our online donations.)

Thank you for your compassion in this grave moment.

Hal Nathan and the Board of the Foundation for the People of Burma

More information on the Foundation is available at our website: www.foundationburma.org

(Article taken from SEA-EAT website)

9:49 AM

Internet at Every Where

Wwith reference to my post below.

POHD, which is co-ordinating the collection of donated items, need volunteers today at 12.30pm to load all the items to trucks. If you happen to be around town today, do drop in and offer your help. I'll be there at 12 noon.

As POHD is still open to collection until 7th Jan., items will still be coming and therefore they need volunteers everyday to sort out the donated items. Contact the tel. no. found in the post below.

9:43 AM

Internet at Every Where

The death toll from the earthquake, the tsunamis and the resultant floods was reported to be more than 160,000, with tens of thousands of people reported missing, and over a million left homeless. Relief agencies report that one-third of the dead appear to be children. This is a result of the high proportion of children in the populations of many of the affected regions and the fact that children were the least able to resist being dragged by the surging waters. Coastal fishing communities and their fisherfolk, some of the poorest people in the region, have been the most devastated with high loss of life as well as boats and fishing gear.

States of emergency were declared in Sri Lanka, Indonesia and Maldives. The United Nations has declared that the current relief operation will be the costliest one ever. Governments and NGOs fear the final death toll may double as a result of diseases, prompting a massive humanitarian response.

In terms of total fatalities and economic damage, this is the worst tsunami in recorded history the previous record being the 1703 tsunami at Awa, Japan that killed over 100,000 people and one of the ten worst earthquakes.

Confirmed death toll:

Indonesia: 100,000

Sri Lanka: 41,008

India: 8,942

Thailand: 4,510

Somalia: 132

Myanmar: 90

Maldives: 74

Malaysia: 66

Tanzania: 10

Seychelles: 10

Bangladesh: 2

Kenya: 2

South Africa: 2

Totals: 154,848

Source: Wikipedia,01Jan05.

9:29 AM

Internet at Every Where

In collaboration with the National Office for Human Development (NOHD), the Penang Office for Human Development (POHD) will help organize the collection of aid for Penang Diocese (Northern area) to be send to Sri Lanka. Items required are as follows:

* dry food

* water

* clothes

* medical supplies � specifically painkillers, cough, cold, and fever medication, surgical gloves as well as vitamins.

The collection centre is at:

Ground Floor

Pusat Keuskupan Katolik (Catholic Diocesan Centre)

290 Macalister Road, Penang

Tel. 2273405

The last date for accepting collection will be on 7th January.

NOTE: The Pusat K.K. is next door to the Jasmine Restaurant (and former Wisma Katolik), few blocks before reaching Island Hospital, and opposite YMCA (not directly). It is a big 4 storey grey building.

7:25 AM

Internet at Every Where

The Government has distributed RM6 million from the Malaysian Tsunami Disaster Fund to victims in five states, Second Finance Minister, Tan Sri Nor Mohd Yakcop said today. The first stage of the distribution will be in Penang, Kedah, Perlis, Perak and Selangor. The aid is RM1,000 for relatives of the deceased, RM500 to families who were displaced and RM200 to victims who were injured. Nor Mohamad said the distribution did not include funds from the corporate sector, government agencies and private individuals which is currently being collected. "We have RM12 million in the fund and as of Wednesday, RM6 million has been distributed", he said after receiving three cheques for the victims at his office today.

Courtesy of the NST

7:14 AM

Internet at Every Where

Dear all,

Another BIG Sadhu to all your generous donation and contribution.

As of to date 12.30 midnight we have managed to seal off 4 x 20-footercontainer of canned food, biscuits, milk-powder, clothes, power generators &etc. to Colombo.

While waiting to get a consignee in Indonesia who can help us to receive thecontainers and distribute them to the Relief Center in Banda Aceh, we havedecided to ship another 2x20-footer containers to Colombo.

We have to apologize to all the generous donors who we have to turn their"Clothes" item because we truly could not receive these items any more inMahindarama.

Allow us some time to clear all our backlogs in re-packing the above itemsand load them into the container before we re-open our receiving again.

If any of our subscriber in Indonesia can act as our consignee anddistributor of the humanitarian aids for Banda Aceh, please contact us byproviding your name, address and contact number. We have 2 x 40-footer ofrice, drinking water, clothes, canned food & etc. ready for delivery.

Latest Schedule and Progress Updates:

1st Sea Shipment - ETA Penang (1-Jan-05) ETD Colombo (9-Jan-05) ...COMPLETED

2nd Sea Shipment - ETA Penang (?) ETD Medan (?) .. Pending Consignee inIndonesia

3rd Sea Shipment - ETA Penang (5-Jan-05) ETD Colombo (13-Jan-05) ...COMPLETED

4th Sea Shipment - ETA Penang (6-Jan-05) ETD Colombo (13-Jan-05) ..CONFIRMED

5th Sea Shipment - ETA Penang (?) ETD Colombo (?) ... via Nibong Tebal PaperMill and staffs' collection

Continuous Air Freight to Colombo from 2-Jan-05 onwards .. (Reserved forMedical Supplies)

We have also pledge just now during our ASPIRATION NITE, a sum of RM10,000to our Penang Island Tsunami Relief Fund to MERCY Malaysia.

We like to thanks again the sub-committees which consists of the Buyers(Food, Clothing & Medicine), the Operation (Packing & Loading), theLogistics Planners (Shipping & Air Freight), all the contact providers, thehelpers which round-up to be more than 500 in number working around theclock from 8.00 am to 12 midnight for the last 2 days.

With Metta & Karuna,

Chee Seng

Mahindarama for Tsunami Relief Coordinator

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