earthquake

as i write this, an earthquake that struck about 12 hours ago off the coast of Indonesia is still wreaking havoc now... it has killed thousands so far in countries around the region. So far its claimed about 2000 lives in Sri Lanka, 1000 in India, 156 in Thailand, 400 in Indonesia, and 43 in Malaysia. (I quote from the BBC news site http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/4125481.stm)
apparently its the strongest earthquake to strike in 40 years...
i guess i feel the most for the Sri Lankans, which are going through a long, painful civil war now, and then this happens. i mean, these are people we are talking about here, fathers, mothers, children... and thats not including the people who survived but will be affected by the destruction of infrastructure. also there is an intangible human cost... in terms of parents who have lost children, children who have been made into orphans, families split apart... and so on...
what can i say? all we can do sometimes is just pray...
personally, i'm thankful that KL wasn't affected, because i have relatives and friends there... but my heart goes out to those who were affected.
these are a few eyewitness accounts from the BBC site (http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/talking_point/4125619.stm)
"Only yesterday afternoon(the 25th), my friend and I were sitting in the same Marina beach, watching local people enjoy a golden evening and today all those footprints have been washed away...and more."
Arun Rabindar, Chennai, TN, India
"At least 2000 bodies have been found so far. At Velankanni alone more than 1000 bodies of people who were at Mass have been found...It is much bigger than originally thought to be."
Ravisankar, Chennai
"I felt the tremor and feared the worst. We had little time to prepare for the waves, no-one could have prepared for what arrived. My home has been destroyed, I have lost everything. I thank God i am alive to send this message."
Sandeep Kumar Jain, Chennai, India
"My partner and I were 700 metres above sea level having just taken the cable car ride. We saw the waves rounding the tip of Langkawi and round the west coast, but as we were so high up we were not aware of the size until we saw the aftermath during our journey by road back to lower land. The picture taken from the top of the mountain clearly shows the main wave. The pictures of the devestation to small fishing villages and the like are hard to comprehend."
Jamie Hancock, Langkawi Island, NW Malaysia
i really dont know what to say... so i'll stop here