More News concerning the Quake and AFTER EFFECTS

[TechZ]

Quake may have altered Earth's rotation
The deadly Asian earthquake may have permanently accelerated the Earth's rotation (http://news.com.com/Quake+may+have+altered+Earths+rotation/2100-1028_3-5505951.html?tag=nefd.top)--shortening days by a fraction of a second--and caused the planet to wobble on its axis, U.S. scientists said Tuesday. Richard Gross, a geophysicist with NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in California, theorized that a shift of mass toward the Earth's center during the quake on Sunday caused the planet to spin 3 microseconds, or 3 millionths of a second, faster and to tilt about an inch on its axis. A second article says the quake moved undersea tectonic plates by up to 98 feet (http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml;jsessionid=IESG1YFI1NHI2CRBAELCF FA?type=scienceNews&storyID=7194479), shifting islands near Sumatra out to sea an unknown distance.

The Coming Atlantic Mega-Tsunami
It's not news at all that scientists predict an eventual "mega-tsunami" that will sweep across the Atlantic that will still be anything from 60 to 150 ft high when it hits the U.S. Eastern seaboard. This Old News, however, suddenly seems fresh (http://www.bbc.co.uk/science/horizon/2000/mega_tsunami.shtml).

Quake's power = million atomic bombs?
Scientists describe Sunday's devastating earthquake off the island of Sumatra as a "megathrust" -- a grade (http://www.cnn.com/2004/TECH/science/12/27/quake.seismic.ap/index.html) reserved for the most powerful shifts in the Earth's crust.

[TechZ]

Tsunami tragedy: World turns to the Web

Charities are using the Internet to bring in donations quickly, as bloggers bring eyewitness accounts from the disaster area. In the aftermath of the devastating South-East Asian tsunami, the Web has been a vital tool both for charities and for individuals seeking information on missing family and friends.

Many charities are accepting online donations to help fund their disaster relief efforts. This includes the Disaster Emergency Committee, a coalition of 12 major charities, which admits that traffic to its appeal site is so great that some people could have difficulty making online donations.

"If this is the case, you can make a credit card donation by telephone on 0870 60 60 900 or please, please try later, we need your money," urged the DEC.

Homepage: DEC Tsunami Earthquake Appeal (http://www.dec.org.uk/) | Google Tsunami Relief (http://www.google.com/tsunami_relief.html)
Homepages: Latest News (http://www.alertnet.org/) | Photos and Videos from the aftermath of the Asia Tsunami (http://www.waveofdestruction.org/)

[confus-ed]

.. ".. you can make a credit card donation by telephone on 0870 60 60 900 or please, please try later, we need your money," urged the DEC.

Homepage: DEC Tsunami Earthquake Appeal (http://www.dec.org.uk/) ..

So this REALLY NEEDS as much HELP as it can get, most definately :thumbs: , but a note of caution as we live in a world with lots of sicko's who'll try & make a buck out of anything ! ..

Donors Beware of Fraud - How You Can Help South Asia Earthquake/Tidal Wave Victims (http://www.prweb.com/releases/2004/12/inktomi192698.php)

Fraudulent requests for donations commonly surface to exploit the public's concern following a devastating natural disaster such as the South Asia earthquake/tidal wave. Evidence of possible fraud is already appearing. Provided are general guidelines and resources to help donors locate and choose a disaster relief organization. Work with and donate directly to legitimate, well-established disaster relief organizations that are currently operating in the affected region and are providing emergency services to the victims.

Now I know the UK number given above is 'good' (it better had be as I already donated !) but methinks given the above can someone suggest a US number as a 'good' place to be donating ? (there's stuff on the link I think will be good like the Red Cross & Red Cresent, Unicef etc but I dunno who's computer systems might also be 'bunged up' & that needs someone 'on the spot' to confirm as the sooner the cash/stuff can get there in an efficient manner the better for all those poor souls !)

[TripleRLtd]

I have to admit that the link above about the Atlantic mega-tsunami is a pretty frightening scenario. I hadn't known about that "old" news.
All of this giant wave stuff certainly puts the hurricane I went through into perspective. I mean wind is one thing, but water is really scary.


btw:
Another link to relief organizations:
http://www.networkforgood.org/topics/international/earthquake/tsunami122604.aspx