Here is a newsclipping from the internet with our viewpoint attached. Newsclipping in bold, ours in regular
High waves and floods inundated the islands.
Definitely.
Large areas of the capital, Male, have been left under water and some low-lying islands abandoned.
To a Maldivian, a large area could be a North American backyard. So, yes, there are big puddles in the low lying recreational soccer fields in the south east portion of the island, the area that was directly hit by the wave. The great tragedy are the other islands that had the wave sweep over them. There are boatloads of people arriving in Male. We are assuming that the village islands hardest hit are being evacuated first. Rescue operations are in effect, with floatplanes Concrete buildings are probably standing, but wooden houses, water bungalows, temporary type structures would have been washed away.
Some of the country’s 200 islands cannot be contacted.
Definitely.
Male is protected by a special artificial barrier and yet it’s flooded and destroyed. The other islands have no protection – there are thousands of these islands with thousands of people, including tourists, and there’s no form of communication to even let them know what is happening. We fear there may be thousands dead, including fishermen and divers.
Ali, Male, Maldives
Male is not flooded and destroyed. I repeat, Male is not flooded and destroyed. Flooding occurred on the waters edge one to four blocks inland about 2 feet deep. It is very inconvenient, possessions and merchandise would be destroyed. We have heard of no life being lost in Male, and in the three other islands closest to us. These three other islands include the airport island, and two resident islands.
The other islands having no protection is accurate. There may be thousands dead, but so far officially 46 are dead and 73 confirmed missing. See www.haveeru.com.mv for local newspaper.
A little annoyed
Kim
