World’s largest relief effort needed

The death toll from the tsumanis has passed 22,000, with thousands more still missing. I heard a secondhand eyewitness account last night.

A friend of a friend survived the tidal wave in Phuket. He was on the beach, and he actually saw the wave coming. He hightailed it to his hotel and ran up the stairs. The floor he ended up on was flooded, but not devastated. He saw a woman smashing through a glass door. He saw entire families being sucked away in the waves. He saw blood everywhere. He is incredibly lucky to be alive.

At this point, I’m sort of glad that I’ve never been into beach holidays.