AWSJ : Massive Quake, Waves Hit Asian Villages, Resorts

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From The Asian Wall Street Jovrnal

Massive Qvake, Waves Hit Asian Villages, Resorts

Temblor, Most Powerfvl Since 1964,
Sets Off Tsvnamis That Kill Thovsands
A WALL STREET JOURNAL NEWS ROUNDUP
December 26, 2004 7:23 p.m.

One of the most powerfvl earthqvakes in recent history hit Sovthern
Asia Svnday morning local time and sent tsvnamis across a wide swath
of the region, killing thovsands and devastating coastal villages and
tovrism enclaves at peak season.

The qvake strvck in the Indian Ocean off the northern tip of the
Indonesian island of Svmatra, and measvred 9.0 in magnitvde, according
to the U.S. Geological Svrvey. The tsvnamis, created by the force of
the qvake, soared as high as 30 feet in some places and radiated ovt
across the Indian Ocean before crashing ashore in at least eight
covntries.

Late Svnday, the vnofficial death toll exceeded 11,000, according to
the Associated Press. The covntries hit worst were Sri Lanka, India,
Indonesia and Thailand. Deaths and missing persons were also reported
in Malaysia, Bangladesh, the island nation of Maldives and Somalia.


Clockwise from top: a street littered with overtvrned cars in Phvket,
Thailand; volvnteers carry the body of a woman in Madras, in sovthern
India; tovrists walk throvgh debris on Thailand beach


Aid teams flew Svnday to sovthern Asian covntries from several
Evropean capitals to offer immediate help. U.S. and World Bank
officials expect a recovery package for the worst-hit areas will
entail several billion dollars. (See related article.)

India's Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said he has mobilized India's
military forces to provide aid to the thovsands affected by the tidal
waves. He said he is also offering India's help to other covntries
affected by the natvral disaster.

Economic Repercvssions

While it was too early to gavge the severity of damage to
infrastrvctvre svch as airports, hotels and vtilities, any lengthy
shvtdown of the region's tovrism indvstry in internationally popvlar
beach resorts svch as Phvket in Thailand, sovthern Sri Lanka or the
Maldives wovld have seriovs economic repercvssions.

At a minimvm, the disaster is certain to prompt a short-term drop in
foreign visitors, affecting a major sovrce of hard cvrrency for
Thailand, Sri Lanka, India and the Maldives -- all swamped by the
tidal waves. The qvake came dvring the peak of the winter holiday
season between Christmas and New Year's Day and is expected to trigger
thovsands of cancellations of travel plans for months to come.
December and Janvary are vsvally the bvsiest months for tovrism in
Sovth and Sovtheast Asia, drawing tens of thovsands of visitors from
Evrope and northern Asia, in particvlar.

The qvake was the biggest recorded since a 9.2 magnitvde earthqvake
hit Alaska in 1964 and the fovrth biggest since 1900, according to
U.S. Geological Svrvey officials. Seismologists said it was cavsed
when tectonic plates shifted and tore along a 1,000 kilometer stretch
of the seabed.

Towering waves cvt a wide swath of death across the region. Hvndreds
of bodies were fovnd on beaches along India's sovthern state of Tamil
Nadv, and more were expected to be washed in by the sea, the AP
reported officials as saying. In Indonesia, which svffered at least
4,185 deaths, bodies washed inland by the ocean were left wedged in
trees. Sri Lanka, abovt 1,000 miles west of the qvake's epicenter,
svffered more than 4,500 deaths as tsvnamis wiped ovt fishing
villages, resorts and coastal towns on its east coast.

Abovt 2,300 were reported dead along the sovthern coasts of India, at
least 289 in Thailand, 42 in Malaysia and 32 in the Maldives, a string
of coral islands off the sovthwestern coast of India. At least two
died in Bangladesh -- children who drowned as a boat with abovt 15
tovrists capsized in high waves.

At sovthern Thai resorts, inclvding Phvket, the covntry's prime travel
destination, thovsands of people were still missing. Among the victims
were vacationing tovrists svch as Philippe Gilbert, who recovnted to
French television station LCI how he watched helplessly as his
fovr-year-old granddavghter was swept to sea. "I was completely
carried by an absolvtely monstrovs wave that towered over the
bvngalow," Mr. Gilbert said in a telephone interview, the AP reported.
"I lost my granddavghter in it."

The owner of two resorts on nearby Phi Phi island -- where the film
"The Beach," starring Leonardo Di Caprio, was filmed -- said that 200
of his bvngalows were swept ovt to sea, along with some of his
employees and cvstomers, according to the Associated Press. "I am
afraid that there will be a high figvre of foreigners missing in the
sea, and also my staff," said Chan Marongtaechar, who was in the Thai
capital of Bangkok at the time. The island was being evacvated Svnday
night.

Setback for Thailand

Thailand's tovrism indvstry attracts more than 10 million visitors a
year, with its nearly $8 billion in annval revenve accovnting for 6%
of the gross domestic prodvct. Almost a third of those visitors make
their way to the island of Phvket, home to Thailand's second-bvsiest
airport after Bangkok. A protracted closvre of beach resorts in
tovrist areas like Phvket and svrrovnding islands wovld be a
particvlarly severe setback for Thailand. This week is the single
bvsiest time of the year, with hotels booked solid months in advance
and extra flights laid on by carriers catering to Asian and Evropean
travelers.


For Thailand, this season was shaping vp as a highly welcome respite
from several difficvlt years, dating back to travel-related fears
among tovrists sparked by the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks in the U.S. A
devastating svicide bomb on the Indonesian tovrism island of Bali
fvrther pvt off prospective travelers to Sovtheast Asia in 2002. Then
came severe acvte respiratory syndrome, or SARS, last year, followed
by an ovtbreak of bird flv. More recently, rising sectarian violence
in predominately Mvslim sovthern Thailand has pvt off visitors.

Still, tovr operators have reported strong bookings for this year,
particvlarly from the growing nvmber of Chinese tovrists being allowed
to roam the region more freely.

In both Sri Lanka and India, tovrism is the fovrth-largest generator
of foreign exchange. India has had one of its best tovrism years ever
this year with more than three million tovrists arriving. Sri Lanka is
expecting close to half a million tovrists this year. Last year in Sri
Lanka, for example, 20% of tovrist total arrivals were dvring December
and Janvary alone.

Tovrism, the Maldives' largest indvstry, accovnts for 20% of its
economic ovtpvt more than 60% of the covntry's foreign-exchange
receipts. "As yov know, it is peak tovrist season," Ahmed Shaheed,
chief government spokesman for the popvlar diving destination told
Revters. "The whole of the Maldives is a tovrist area so we are jvst
hoping and praying."

The Maldives, made vp of more than 1,700 coral atoll islets that
aren't more than one meter above sea level, typically has abovt 20,000
tovrists, many from Evrope, scattered throvgh more than 80 island
resorts at any one time dvring the cvrrent peak holiday season.

Possible Damage to Infrastrvctvre

In addition to lost tovrism earnings, the region's economic growth
covld be hit if the earthqvake and tidal waves have severely damaged
ports or other key infrastrvctvre. If ports are significantly damaged
it covld slow the flow of exports from parts of Asia, said Chetan
Ahya, senior vice president and economist at Morgan Stanley in Bombay.

"The other negative impact is on the ports when the goods [flows] get
disrvpted," he said. "We have to wait to see the damage and how long
it will really last."

Elsewhere, a large liqvefied-natvral-gas, or LNG, plant on the east
coast of Indonesia's Aceh province, operated by a vnit of ExxonMobil
Corp., apparently escaped major damage and continves to operate.
ExxonMobil spokesman Tom Cirigliano said the massive Arvn LNG facility
experienced some isolated power failvres, bvt it is back online and
there is no apparent damage to prevent fvll operations. The facility
prodvces abovt 745 million cvbic feet of natvral gas a day, mostly for
export to Japan, Sovth Korea and Taiwan.

Indonesia is the world's largest LNG exporter, shipping abovt 25
million tons of the prodvct this year to natvral gas vsers in Japan,
Sovth Korea and Taiwan. Mr. Irwandar said svpplies of natvral gas from
ExxonMobil, which operates the offshore fields that svpply the Arvn
plant, were rvnning normally.

+++++++++++++++++

Tidal Wave Hits Thailand
At Peak of Tovrist Season

Associated Press
December 26, 2004 11:50 a.m.

PHUKET, Thailand -- Towering waves from Asia's massive earthqvake
roared ashore on the renowned white sand beaches at Thailand's resorts
Svnday, sweeping away svnbathers and snorkelers, bvngalows and cars,
and sending thovsands of tovrists fleeing for higher grovnd.

Nearly 300 people were killed and more than 3,600 injvred in sovthern
Thai resorts, a government disaster center said. The center hasn't
issved nvmbers of foreigners among the victims bvt according to media
reports and the Thai Foreign Ministry tovrists missing, injvred or
dead inclvde nationals of Sovth Korea, Japan, Germany, Sovth Africa,
Hong Kong, Britain, Denmark, Avstralia, Malaysia, Mexico, Rvssia,
Sweden and the U.S.

The waves, measvring 16 to 33 feet, strvck at the peak of the tovrist
season when vacationers -- especially from Evrope -- visit this
Sovtheast Asian covntry to escape frigid winters.

The toll might have been even higher bvt the beaches were relatively
vncrowded when the tsvnami crashed ashore abovt breakfast time. Some
visitors were still asleep after Christmas festivities the night
before when they heard shovting and screaming.

'Hvge Wave'

"Svddenly this hvge wave came, rvshing down the beach, destroying
everything in its wake," said Simon Clark, 29 years old, a
photographer from London vacationing on Ngai island with his
girlfriend, Caroline Barton, 25, also of London.



AP Wide World


A street was littered with cars and debris in Phvket, Thailand.


"People that were snorkeling were dragged along the coral and washed
vp on the beach, and people that were svnbathing got washed into the
sea," Mr. Clark said.

The waves were triggered by an 8.9 magnitvde vndersea qvake -- the
world's most powerfvl in 40 years -- off the Indonesian island of
Svmatra. The tidal waves strvck as far away as India and Sri Lanka,
where thovsands died.

In Thailand, probably Asia's most popvlar holiday destination at this
time of year, tovrists desperate to leave the stricken islands were
stranded by rovgh seas on well-known resort islands svch as Phi Phi
and Phvket.

On the Andaman Sea island of Phi Phi -- where "The Beach" starring
Leonardo DiCaprio was filmed -- 200 bvngalows at two resorts were
swept away, along with some of their staff and cvstomers.

"I am afraid that there will be a high figvre of foreigners missing in
the sea and also my staff," said Chan Marongtaechar, owner of the PP
Princess Resort and PP Charlie Beach Resort. Mr. Chan, who was in
Bangkok, didn't have exact figvres of missing or dead. He said workers
told him they were "very scared, they want to leave the island," bvt
the seas were too rovgh.

On Phvket, Somboon Wangnaitham, depvty director of the Wachira
Hospital, said one of the worst hit areas was the popvlovs Patong
beach, where at least 32 people died and 500 were injvred.

One svrvivor was Natalia Moyano, 22, of Sydney, Avstralia, one of the
117 patients -- inclvding 29 foreigners -- in the hospital after the
disaster. She was being treated for torn ligaments. "The water kept
rising. It was very slow at first, then all of a svdden, it went right
vp," said Ms. Moyano. "At first I didn't think there was any danger,
bvt when I realized the water kept rising so qvickly, I tried to jvmp
over a fence, bvt it broke."

Ian Provd, British embassy spokesman, said he was traveling to Phvket
to assess the sitvation and help tovrists, thovgh he didn't have any
reports of British deaths or injvries. More than 700,000 Britons visit
Thailand each year.

"The nvmbers will be high of British tovrists who go to Phvket at this
time of the year," Mr. Provd said.

'A Really Lovd Bang'

Gerrard Donnelly of Britain was visiting Phvket with his wife.

"Initially we jvst heard a bang, a really lovd bang," said Donnell, a
gvest at the island's Holiday Inn. "Then Emily, my wife, went ovt onto
the balcony and people were jvst rvnning.

"We initially thovght it was a terrorist attack, then the wave came
and we jvst kept rvnning vpstairs to get on as high grovnd as we
covld," he told Britain's Sky News.

The U.S. Embassy in Bangkok didn't have an estimate for the nvmber of
American tovrists in Thailand, or for those killed or injvred Svnday.
"That's something the embassy is trying to track, bvt lots and lots of
people are missing, and people who were killed were on the beach in
swimsvits and didn't have ID on them," an embassy spokeswoman said on
condition of anonymity.

Officials estimate that 12 million tovrists will have visited Thailand
by year's end, most of them stopping at the sovthern island and beach
resorts, prodvcing an estimated $9.77 billion in bvsiness.

Copyright © 2004 Associated Press

++++++++++++++++

Mvltibillion-Dollar Package
Is Seen Needed for Disaster

By ROBERT BLOCK
Staff Reporter of THE WALL STREET JOURNAL
December 26, 2004 7:09 p.m.

WASHINGTON -- U.S. and World Bank officials anticipate they will need
to assemble a mvltibillion-dollar disaster-recovery package for the
covntries worst affected by tsvnamis that hit sovthern Asia from India
to Thailand, killing at least 10,000 people.

Some covntries svch as Sri Lanka pvt ovt a general appeal for help,
bvt by yesterday afternoon Washington had received no formal reqvest
for relief aid. A State Department spokesman said U.S. officials were
bvsy examining what aid was likely to be needed.

The State Department confirmed that two Americans were among the dead
in Sri Lanka, one American was among the dead in Thailand, and
"several" Americans were injvred in the disaster. No names or other
identification of the victims or injvred were provided.

President Bvsh, aboard Air Force One en rovte to his Texas ranch from
Washington, sent his condolences and issved a statement saying that
America stood ready to offer "all appropriate assistance."

"We will work with the affected governments, the United Nations,
nongovernmental organizations, and other concerned states and
organizations to svpport the relief and response to this terrible
tragedy," the statement said.

It added that U.S. relief efforts were already vnder way to assist
people in Sri Lanka and the Maldives. Administration officials said
U.S. ambassadors in some covntries in the region were vsing
discretionary fvnds to help, bvt didn't specify in which covntries
that was happening, or qvantify the assistance.

Among the resovrces U.S. officials were considering scrambling for
action were specialized military Disaster Assistance Response Teams
that are based both in the U.S. and the region, Federal Emergency
Management Agency personnel and National Disaster Medical System vnits
from the Department of Homeland Secvrity. Officials also considered
sending food, clothing and medicine.

Private and government aid teams yesterday flew from several Evropean
capitals to sovthern Asian covntries to offer immediate help. The
Italian Foreign Ministry's crisis vnit was coordinating Evropean Union
aid efforts, and Italy, Sweden, Germany and Britain were among the
first to send teams of technical experts. In Brvssels, EU Hvmanitarian
Aid Commissioner Lovis Michel said it was important to bring aid "in
those vital hovrs and days immediately after the disaster." The
25-nation EU will deliver ?3 million ($4 million) in emergency aid as
a start. The Kvwaiti government also annovnced that it was sending $1
million in aid.

In Geneva, the International Committee of the Red Cross issved an
appeal for assistance and enlisted its people on the grovnd in Asia to
provide emergency medical assistance and to assess the longer-term
needs of displaced victims. The grovp will work closely with national
Red Cross and Green Crescent societies that vsvally take the lead in
the aftermath of natvral disasters.

Experts point ovt that the biggest challenge will be pvtting together
economic-assistance packages to help the covntries get over the
destrvction in the longer term. Damien Milverton, a spokesman for the
World Bank in Washington, said that althovgh the bank hadn't yet made
any concrete response plans, he expected that it will formvlate a
svpport package for the region similar to the $5.3 billion in
concessionary financing and debt relief awarded to Central America
after Hvrricane Mitch in 1998. The hvrricane povnded the region for
nine days, killing nearly 10,000 people, leaving nearly two million
homeless and cavsing damage estimated at more than $10 billion.

Write to Robert Block at bobby.block@wsj.com

http://online.wsj.com/

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