It is hard to imagine that one decade ago I had been dispatched to the Indonesia to cover Baltimore-based Catholic Relief Services’ efforts after the December 26 tsunami that would eventually kill more than 200,000 people. The devastation remains unconscionable today, after being dropped into Aceh province to cover the victims and survivors. Only one word could truly describe my reaction to seeing the damage from the event: “Helpless.”
Thai police opened a shipping container filled with documents and possessions of victims of the 2004 Indian Ocean Tsunami after being asked by Reuters for permission to film its contents. The 3 metre by 12 metre container was handed over to Thai police in 2011 and contains hundreds of plastic police evidence bags – each one holding the precious items found on the body of a victim. In Thailand, over 5,300 people were killed, including several thousand foreign tourists, when the waves swamped six coastal provinces, turning some of the world’s most beautiful beaches into mass graves.
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Thousands of people who evacuated Chile’s low-lying coastal areas returned home on Wednesday morning after authorities called off a tsunami alarm as damage from a massive overnight earthquake seemed mostly limited.
On March 11, 2011, an earthquake and tsunami devastated Japan’s Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant. In Koriyama, a short drive from the crippled Fukushima nuclear plant, the city recommended shortly after the disaster that children up to two years old not spend more than 15 minutes outside each day. Those aged 3 to 5 should limit their outdoor time to 30 minutes or less. The limits were lifted last year, but many kindergartens and nursery schools continue to obey them even now in line with the wishes of worried parents. An annual survey by the Fukushima prefecture Board of Education found that children in Fukushima weighed more than the national average in virtually every age group. The cause seems to be a lack of exercise and outdoor activity. Ahead of the third anniversary, Reuters photographer Toru Hanai checked in on the town.
New pandas for Singapore, Monty Python Flying Circus actors and their pups, a little bubbly for cricket champions and more in today’s daily brief.
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