The first South African victim of the tsunami was buried in Joburg yesterday. Really makes it more real somehow… the NASA Earth Observatory images of the area don’t show anything of the human side of the disaster, and it’s easy to get somewhat detached with all the footage and images bombarding me hourly.
There are still 985 South Africans missing as of today – 9 bodies have been identified so far. Some of the injured are back home, and being badgered by the media.
NASA Earth Observatory images:
- Earthquake Spawns Tsunamis (from the EO Natural Hazards section of the site) for the latest collection of images
- Tsunami Destroys Lhoknga, Indonesia
- Tsunami damage in Aceh Province, Sumatra
- Tsunami Damage in Northwest Sumatra
- Tsunami Strikes Sri Lanka
It makes me appreciate being alive in a whole new way.
