Almost 48 hours after the tsunami struck, it seems impossible to fully comprehend the enormity of a tragedy that has hit so many countries. It seems now that at least 25000 people have died, almost half of those being in Sri Lanka. Over a million - goodness knows how many at this stage - are homeless, and there are serious concerns that disease will kill many more people before basic facilities can be restored. The fatalities have occurred right around the Indian Ocean rim from Aceh to Somalia and submerging island entities such as the Maldives and the Andaman and Nicobar Islands.

I think it's important to stop and look at the images of destruction from the aftermath of December 26. Here's some Yahoo news photo searches for Galle, Colombo, Phuket, and Aceh.

The international aid effort is gathering momentum, and I think it is important that we all help in any way that we can. Dianne and I have already made an online donation to the Australian Red Cross.

Here are links to press releases from some of the major Australian charities that have launched tsunami relief appeals to date:
Australian Red Cross
Oxfam Community Aid Abroad
World Vision Australia
UNICEF Australia
CARE Australia.