Nature Sends Reminder Of 2004 Tsunami

Earthquake Off Taiwan Prompts Worries On Anniversary Of Disaster That Killed 230,000

(CBS/AP) 
"The biggest challenge is working with the people to make them aware," said German geologist Harald Spahn, who is helping Indonesia set up its alert network. "It is a really complex job that many people underestimate."

Underscoring his point, a woman selling baked corn on the beach in Bali refused to budge.

"I'm not going anywhere," said Wati. "I still have to make some money this morning."

In Thailand, ceremonies will be held along the Andaman coast with Buddhist prayers to remember more than 8,200 killed. Balloons will be launched and candles lit along beaches once again filled with sun-seeking tourists.

But as authorities prepared to open a cemetery for hundreds of unidentified tsunami victims, a new scandal emerged.

The U.S. and six other Western nations said as much as 60 percent of the $1.6 million set aside to help identify those who died may have been misused, an unnamed U.S. diplomat was quoted as saying in The Nation, an English-language daily published in Thailand.

The money appears to have gone toward travel and other miscellaneous costs, he said, calling for an investigation.

In Sri Lanka, the resurgence of a civil war has added to the misery of survivors and slowed efforts to rebuild — sparking criticism from outgoing U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan, who urged Tamil Tiger rebels and the military to lay down their arms.

"No one could have prevented the tsunami's wave of destruction," he wrote in a statement. "But together, we can stem the tide of conflict, which threatens once again to engulf the people of Sri Lanka."

Temple bells chimed to mark the exact time the first wave crashed ashore, and all cars and trucks came to a standstill for two minutes. Looking to the future, officials also erected the first of 100 coastal warning towers.

In India, where another 18,000 are believed to have died, interfaith ceremonies were being be held and in Malaysia, where 69 people were killed, volunteers were replanting mangroves.

The 2004 tsunami generated an unprecedented outpouring of generosity, with donor pledges reaching some $13.6 billion, but many of those homeless complain they are stuck with poorly built structures that leak, are termite-infested or located in flood zones.

Corruption has also marred the process, with several non-government organizations forced to delay projects or rebuild homes after contractors and suppliers ran off with the funds.

[alphaa10-2009]

Hidden away in this editorial summary of Stephen Fleay'a story is a real basis for optimism about the human condition. First, fatalism and resignation has been replaced by people taking constructive action. The tsunami drills also show a developing seismic alert network which can string together the far-flung points of the Pacific rim. As Sri Lankans and others discovered, being thousands of miles distant is no protection.

Though there is much recovery work left to be done, enormous progress has been made in rebuilding schools and the rest of the infrastrucure. Only the generosity of the world community of nations makes this possible.

Some also realistically credit the powerful pressure of world opinion, after the UN asked wealthier nations in 2005 to commit large sums to disaster recovery. The US, all told, pledged $857 million, and about $1.45 billion in pledged private aid-- after an initial offering of $15 million by Bush.

[godofredo29]

I blame myself.