December 24, 2004 The Christmas Tsunami

9.1 Magnitude earthquake resulting in a crustal displacement causing a devastating tsunami.


Tsunami aid 'went to the richest' (click here)
Last Updated: Saturday, 25 June, 2005, 02:48 GMT 03:48 UK
Six months after the Asian tsunami, a leading international charity says the poorest victims have benefited the least from the massive relief effort.
A survey by Oxfam found that aid had tended to go to businesses and landowners, exacerbating the divide between rich and poor.
The poor were likely to spend much longer in refugee camps where it is harder to find work or rebuild lives.
Oxfam has called for aid to go to the poorest and most marginalised.
They must not be left out of reconstruction efforts, the charity said....

Thai tsunami resorts await tourists (click here)

By Kate McGeown  BBC News Chanida Chueratanakorn owns a beach-front restaurant in the beautiful Thai resort of Au Nang.Like many places on this stretch of the Andaman coastline, Au Nang - near the town of Krabi - was only slightly damaged by the tsunami. But six months after the disaster, few tourists are coming back to the area, and Ms Chueratanakorn is finding it hard to make ends meet.... "We've considered closing, and maybe that might be the best option," she said. "But if tourists come and see everything shut up like a ghost town they'll never come back." "It's a really difficult time for us. Usually we save enough money in the high season to carry us through the low season. "But the tsunami happened at the beginning of the high season, so now we don't have any money to last us through this quieter period," she said. Sophia Buranakul, project manager for a local non-profit foundation, said Ms Chueratanakorn's situation was a common one....