Phuket Reports

Brothers,

Any reports from the tsunami in Phuket? Hope all is well. Get to high ground, this is not over.

[QUOTE=Intransit]Brothers,

Any reports from the tsunami in Phuket? Hope all is well. Get to high ground, this is not over.[/QUOTE]
Intransit,

CNN reports :


[b]Many missing at sea off Thailand[/b]

[i]Sunday, December 26, 2004 Posted: 2:32 AM EST (0732 GMT)[/i]

BANGKOK, Thailand (AP) -- Twenty people died and many others were missing in southern Thai resorts after a major earthquake hit Southeast Asia on Sunday, a disaster official said.

It wasn't clear how they died. At least four of the dead were tourists, said Sorajak Chusaeng, of the Narenthorn Center of the Public Health Ministry.

The victims were in Songkhla, Phuket, Krabi, Phang Nga and Surat Thani provinces, which draw thousands of visitors each year because of their world-famous beaches.

The center earlier reported that some people had been swept away off a Phuket beach by tidal waves surging as high as five meters (16 feet) after an 8.5-magnitude earthquake hit near the Indonesian island of Sumatra.

Several southern Thai resorts were flooded. On Phang-Nga, another popular tourist area near Phuket, people sought refuge from the floods on rooftops. Cars were carried away by rising waters in neighboring Krabi, Sorajak said.

Watcharat Hospital in Phuket was full, with many foreigners coming from hotels on popular Kamala and Patong beaches, said a hospital official who declined to be named.

The tourists have told hospital officials that they were sitting on the beach when the tsunami suddenly appeared. They said a lot of people died, and at least 30 boats filled with tourists were lost at sea.

[i]Copyright 2004 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.[/i]

fox news showed some shots of very familiar areas they don't look much the same. noting travel is currently suspended to phuket. things will be very different now.

hopefully nobody we know was effected.
it is hard to understand how warnings couldn't be broadcast faster than a moderate speed wave that can be seen from the air. (it took over an hour for the waves to reach phuket) [url]http://www.phuketgazette.net/[/url]

expect reconstruction sales similar to months following florida hurricanes. i recall being in mexico after some substantial storms. it can take over a year to build over the signs of damage.


indonesia 8.9-magnitude quake causes asia tidal waves (update4)
last updated: december 26, 2004 03:13 est
[url]http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=10000087&sid=aglkf7q9byka&refer=top_world_news[/url]
dec. 26 (bloomberg) -- an 8.9-magnitude earthquake, the fifth strongest in a century, struck the indonesian island of sumatra, unleashing giant tidal waves that killed hundreds of people across india and southeast asia.

the quake's magnitude was raised to 8.9 from 8.5 by the u.s. geological survey on its web site. nine aftershocks measuring between 5.8 and 7.3 spread across a zone from sumatra to india's andaman island within four hours of the initial jolt, it said.

the earthquake and flash floods in sumatra killed at least 60 people, the national earthquake center in jakarta said. tsunami waves killed at least 523 people in sri lanka, 100 in the andamans and six in malaysia, agence france-presse said. other news agencies reported more than 200 people dead in southern india and 26 dead at beach resorts in southern thailand. thousands of people were reported missing across southeast asia.

``my mother was in the sea when the giant wave came and she escaped with only a minor bruises, thanks to help from other people,'' said francois goret, a french resident in the resort city of phuket whose house is on karon beach. ''water came at least 50 meters inland. chairs on the beach were washed away.''

the indonesia earthquake, which struck about 7 a.m. local time, was centered offshore about 1,605 kilometers (1,000 miles) northwest of jakarta at a depth of 10 kilometers, the u.s. geological survey said.

high waves

it created tsunami waves as high as 5 meters (17 feet) along the north coast of aceh province in indonesia, knocking out at least one bridge and flattening some buildings, said the geology and meteorology office.

``i'm afraid the number is going to increase,'' budi waluyo, an official at the national earthquake center said of the death toll in indonesia. ``we are having problems communicating with people there.''

the threat from tsunamis, or waves triggered by seismic activity, isn't over, officials said. ``we expect the big waves to lash chennai and parts of tamil nadu for the next two days,'' a.k. shukla, head of the indian meteorological department, said in a phone interview from new delhi.

there were no immediate reports of damage to oil facilities in indonesia, southeast asia's biggest oil producer.

``as long as you don't see any damage to the facilities, especially the oil and gas pipelines, i don't see the impact as being significant,'' said song seng wun, regional economist with g.k. goh holdings ltd. in singapore.

maldives

major damage was reported in the maldives, resort islands southwest of india. no details were immediately available.

thai prime minister thaksin shinawatra said he can't recall tidal waves of that magnitude hitting the nation's shores before. phuket is a favorite destination for foreign tourists during the end-of-year holiday season. some beachgoers were reportedly swept out to sea by the waves.

''phuket was most affected, not just people bathing in the sea but people driving their cars,'' thaksin told reporters. ''people have died, but we can't say how many yet.''

the sheraton grande laguna in phuket moved all its guests to a safe area when big waves hit hotel, staff there said. ``every beach area got wiped out,'' gary halpin, 43, a new zealander who runs a diving business in phuket, a tourist resort area on thailand's west coast, which faces the andaman islands. ``bungalows were wiped out and the bigger buildings had windows broken.''

second in week

the indonesian quake is the second in the world this year of magnitude 8 or greater. last week a magnitude 8.1 temblor was recorded in the southern ocean between australia and antarctica by the u.s. geological survey.

magnitude 8 earthquakes are capable of causing severe loss of life if centered near heavily populated areas. an 8.1 quake in mexico city in 1985 killed about 9,500 people.

the worst earthquake since 1900 was a 9.5-magnitude temblor in chile in 1960, according to the u.s. geological survey, followed by two earthquakes in alaska and one in russia's kamchatka region.

indonesia's 18,000 islands are prone to earthquakes because the nation sits along the pacific ``ring of fire,'' a zone of active volcanoes and faults in tectonic plates.

Let's take a minute of silence and pray that any and all fellow mongerers, girls, and innocents are okay

It could have been any of us.

I've just returned from a lovely week in Patong and I heard the news just now. I hope you are all well and safe, good luck!

Hope and prayer goes out to everyone!

Hello everyone in Phuket

My prayers are with you, I realise things must be awful there but I hope you can help.

I usually stay in the Patong Bay Garden Hotel, it's right on the beachfront just up from Bangla, they must have got it bad, I've tried contacting the hotel but can't get through.I appreciate they and you have more important things to do but can you tell me how they are, as well as the massage/manicure girls and the little cafe on the beach just beside the hotel. They are all very nice people and I would hate to think anything happened to them.

Beside the hotel just down from Boots pharmacy there is a small arcade, a lovely woman called Na runs an internet shop and hair salon, last week she was looking after two little neices about 4 and 2 years old, Christ alone knows what they would do if 20 feet of water came crashing in. Please can someone find out if are they alright, when I was there the little one was sleeping in a bed in the back at 10am, I am horrified to think about it.

I understand everyone will want information like this but I would be very grateful if someone could help.

Thanks

from the bbc...

at least 257 people died and 1,000 were injured after the massive sea surges caused by an earthquake smashed into thailand's western coast.

the worst hit areas were on beaches near phuket, with reports of divers and sunbathers being swept out to sea.

hotels were under water after 5m-10m (16 to 33 feet) waves hit the coast and there were reports of tourist bungalows being carried away by the water.

tourists spoke of their disbelief at the scale and speed of the disaster.

"the beach is a disaster now with all of the local restaurants and beach chairs businesses totally destroyed," one reader in phuket told the bbc news website.

one hotel worker in phuket said the tide of water flooded the hotel lobby and pulled furniture onto the street.

"as i was standing there, a car actually floated into the lobby and overturned because the current was so strong," boree carlsson told reuters news agency.

thai officials said the toll was expected to rise because scores of people were still missing.

there were particular fears for divers, since the tidal wave hit when hundreds of tourists and instructors were in the water for a boxing day dive.

up to 80 divers were reported to be trapped in the famous emerald cave, which divers can only reach by swimming underwater.

on the island of koh phi phi, made famous as the location for the 2000 film "the beach", officials spoke of widespread damage and islanders and tourists being airlifted to safety.

one report from the island said 200 bungalows had been swept out the sea.

tourism is one of thailand's most important industries, with hundreds of thousands of western and asian tourists drawn to its beaches each year.

in neighbouring malaysia, at least 20 people were reported killed after the tidal waves hit. most of the dead were in the holiday resort of penang.

If you like to see some pics of the desaster area on Phuket you have to go to

[url]http://www.************.com/[/url].

There is a message board section. When you get in that go to its general thread. The photos are there.

A direct link doesn't work, sorry.

Thanks for the link, Traveler. I passed it on to a friend of mine who, while not a member of this board, traveled in the area a lot and was grateful for the information. Hope you guys are keeping safe over there.

Magic

Feel your pain and only wish those that are there a safe return to your families.

My prayers goes out to all of you in Phuket,I've been following it all from Bkk,and I have to say it's the scariest I've seen for a long long time.

Luckily all of my friends that where there survived,with some bad bruces tho.

Once again all my prayers to all of you!

guys,

hope all of you are safe.

wish you godspeed.

ice

[size=-2][u]editor's note[/u]: [blue]posting of this report was delayed pending revisions to [u]correctly spell the words "you", "are" and "because"[/u]. to avoid delays in future reports, please refrain from using "u" instead of "you", "r" instead or "are", "em" instead of "them", and "cuz" instead of "because", etc. [i]thanks![/i][/blue][/size]

As the death toll approaches 30K, it is clear that this was avoidable.

The ocean bouy warning system was not able to protect Phuket, because in Thailand only the other shore is protected for Bangkok and Pattaya.
USGS reports frantically alerting countries effected, but few if any had any type of national alert system.

Possibly with this well known issue, Phuket will be protected in the future.


Killer tsunami takes high toll in Thailand
By John Hail
UNITED PRESS INTERNATIONAL

Bangkok, Thailand, Dec. 27 (UPI) -- Frantic search and rescue operations were mounted Monday for thousands of foreign tourists and Thai coastal residents missing or cut off after massive tsunami waves hit the region.

Thai officials said 451 people were confirmed to have been killed after the waves crashed over some of the country's most popular beach resorts Sunday, with at least 2,000 injured and nearly 400 missing and feared drowned.

They said they expected the death toll to rise further as rescue teams reach several outlying islands, including Kho Phi Phi, where about 200 scuba divers and other foreign tourists were among the missing.

The idyllic island, which was used as a backdrop for the 2000 film, "The Beach," starring Leonardo DiCaprio, was devastated by the tidal waves, with scores of divers swept away.

Among those killed was Thai King Bhumipol's American-born grandson, Bhumi, 21, who was reported to have been out on a jet ski off the southern resort of Khao Lak in Phang-nga province when the killer tsunami hit Sunday morning.

Thailand's world-renowned beach resorts at Phuket were also hit hard by the tidal waves, which crashed into beach-front bungalows and bars and sent fishing boats smashing into hotels and shop houses.

"The beach front is ruined and will take months and months to get back to its former self," Swiss national Shankar Biman told United Press International on Phuket island. "I have not seen such devastation since I experienced ruins left after World War II in northern Italy. And it is the first time I have seen the results of unleashed natural forces.

"The tourists have packed their bags and left," Biman said. "Many thousands of people have lost their livelihood, luckier than the many who lost their lives," he said.

Phuket's governor said the bodies of more than 35 foreign tourists had been recovered from the island's beaches.

Two trawlers were reported missing off the coast of Ranong province, and dozens of fishing boats were also swamped by the tsunami.

The waves hit at the height of the tourist season, when thousands of Western tourists and locals were enjoying their Christmas holidays.

Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, who flew to Phuket Sunday night to take charge personally of rescue and relief operations, said the evacuation of tourist beaches was proceeding smoothly.

"Don't panic," he said. "Now, there is no problem in the inner city (of Phuket). People have already been evacuated from risk-prone areas. We will try to give them comforts and accommodations as much as we can."

He said ambassadors and other officials from 25 countries were going to Phuket to keep track of their nationals who have been killed, injured or are missing since the killer waves struck the area.

Public Health Minister Sudarat Keyuraphun said medical personnel were being rushed to Phuket's Patong Hospital, which was swamped with hundreds of people injured by the waves.

Thousands of Thai and foreign relatives of the victims waited at the hospital and other points on the island for news of their loved ones.

As someone who went through the 1964 Good Friday Earthquake and tsunami in Alaska, my hopes and prayers are with each of you. If you have any suggestions for active relief agencies that seem to be making a difference, please post contact info so we can make donations.