"It is also not a history-changing epochal occurrence like 9-11-01 because it is a random tragedy that is part of the hazards of living on this planet."
Arguably, the Great Flood of 1927 and its aftermath changed American history profoundly, and set in motion (prior to the Depression or Roosevelt) the political forces which led to the era of "big government". I touched on this topic in a recent post. The book "Rising Tide" traces a helluva lot of socio-political changes back to the flood.
I don't buy the parallel. Ultimately, I think the 2004 Tsunami will have negligible if any far-reaching results, similar to the Izmir earthquake and the Iran earthquake -- both of which were in the last 5-6 years and which totaled nearly 70,000 dead. The political and economic importance of the US in 1927 to the world was far higher than the economic impact that India, Indonesia, Sri Lanka and Thailand have today.
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