Pacific Disaster

Update Jan. 1: OOPS! The action was all on the Indian Ocean. Once again, I lack a global perspective.

The Pacific Ocean got its name because, on so many days, it is beautiful and calm, able to support the lives of millions of people in tropical comfort.

Vasco Nunez de Balboa (1475-1519), Spain.

Spanish conquistador and explorer. He was the first European to see (and stand in the waters of) the eastern shore of the Pacific Ocean, on September 13, 1513. He accomplished this feat after an arduous trek through the jungles of what is now Panama. He claimed the Pacific Ocean and all its shores for Spain, which opened the way for Spanish exploration and conquest along the western coast of South America. But it was the Portuguese explorer, Magellen (not Balboa), who, because its waters seemed so calm, gave this ocean the name "Pacifica" (meaning peaceful).

(via Ask Jeeves)

Unfortunately, the same ocean can also be the source of a disaster like the one we are hearing about.

I guess technology exists to give at least some warning of a tsunami (maybe the Japanese have it?), but this one was kind of a perfect natural disaster. People are on the beach, relaxing, on a beautiful day. Suddenly the water is sucked away from the beach. Everyone is shocked, speculating. Some weird variation on the tide? Something to do with the moon? Then: waves appear, travelling at 800 km/h.

You run like hell, and even if you make it, your loved ones and people around you probably don't. Parents were forced to decide which kids they could hold on to. Incredible.

A terrible aftermath in countries that are mostly very poor. Tourism is a cash business for many of them. Will tourists come back soon?

And a nasty question: to what extent is prostitution a major part of the tourism business in those countries?

Wed Dec 29, 2004 10:35 am MST by robertll | Email Article |

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Pacific Disaster