Phuket Reports

Very sad, dunno what to say.

Lets pray for the death toll stop climbing.

Daijek

What I dont get is: there were a couple of hours between the quake and the tsunami hitting Phuket, right? And it clearly was going to hit, this was well known for those 2 hours. Lots of people knew a wall of water was moving across the ocean toward Thailand, and Indonesia just got slammed by it. There's no warning sytem on Phuket, but why werent the hotel owners on the beach alerted? And local police? There was something like a 2 hour window to get the word out. Its not like Phuket is an Indian fishing village, its a major international resort island with plenty of expensive hotels with phones and internet access right on the beach. Why werent there hotel waiters, owners, police, anyone and everyone running around on the beach screaming their heads off? If they werent notified, why not? The information was out there, why werent they called? Why werent police trucks going nuts on the beach, warning people? This is a real question, not a rhetorical one, if anyone out there knows how it went down on Phuket please let me (us) know. To me, even without an official warning system, what happened could have been prevented, a lot of lives could have been saved -unless theres something I'm missing here. Like a lot of other people here, I'm a frequent visitor to Thailand and am really disturbed about what happened.

a friend was able to make it out in one piece. but here is his story. gives us all a reason to be thankful.


***************

where to start? well, i'm alive, that's a start. quite an interesting day, to say the least. i woke up about 7:30, showered and came down to the open air lobby for a cup of coffee and to decide what to do for the day. since i'm on vacation, i've been deciding things on a whim, and yesterday was no different. while drinking my coffee sue, the owner's girlfriend, came over and we started chatting about my plans. i spent the previous day on railey beach, so i figured to head to phi phi. this is at 8:20. she said there are two ferries, leaving at 8:30 and 10:30. hurry, she said, and i can get you on the 8:30. so i rushed to pack and get on the bus to the ferry landing. no problem. stopped at railey beach to pick up a few more people, and then we motored on towards phi phi.

nearing the island, a few people on deck noticed a wall of white water further out to sea, like a wave breaking early. thinking nothing of it, we sat back down and waited to get there. wait is the key word. when we got to phi phi, there were several boats waiting just outside of the harbor, and no boats in the harbor...i mean nothing was there. this is when the information we were getting starts to get sketchy, and rumors are flying. first we are told the tide is too low, and the waves are pushing the boats too much.

soon after i hear this, i see a giant white wave breaking over phi phi, the second or final tidal wave to crash over the island. we arrived at about 11:00. the first wave hit at about 10:45, followed by two more, devasting the island, killing many. we were at the right place at the right time, within minutes of being overturned. the shelter of the island actually took the brunt of the force, sparing us. as we were sitting in front of phi phi, which we did for 6 hours, we started to get news. first, we saw boats floating by, speed boats overturned in the trees at phi phi, trees and rubish in the water, which got heavier and heavier as time wore on. a large ferry, similar to ours, pulled up next to us; it had left just after we did from ao nong. there were a few people aboard, and one of the crew came on, bleeding from a would to his chest, hysterical. another was carried on board, with scratches and cuts all over his body. they were missing the rest of the crew; the boat was tossed in the air by the wave we just missed.

oddly, the thais on our boat didn't seem too terribly concerned about this guy. i mean he has gashes all over his body, his feet are bleeding through his dirty bandages, and all they can do is lay him down. a german couple and i gave him first aid, cleaning his wounds and putting on new bandages. deep lacerations and puncture wounds all over his feet and ankles. by this time everyone fairly understands something has gone terribly wrong, but still, no announcement come from the boat, just rumors from one of the crew members. at no time did they make an announcement telling us what to do, or when we'll go. up until we left, we were still thinking we were going to phi phi.

rumors of a tidal wave, killing thousands, began to surface. another boat pulls along side us, loading a few more injured people for us to take to the mainland. finally, after 7 hours on the boat, we started back to ao nong, where we started. as we began to approach the mainland, the rubbish started to show in the water. kilometers from land, whole trees, bottles, trash, and boats...lots of longtail boats destroyed. pulling into krabi, not ao nong, was our first surprise, then the rumors started getting mixed with the facts, and we all realized how lucky we were. ao nong, hit by a wave 20 feet high, gone? railey beach, washed over, gone? 200 dead on phi phi, all but 2 hotels gone? hard to know what to beleive, what to do. do i leave, stay and help, where do i go?

i decided to head back to ao nong, as i heard the wave hit it hard, but most of the hotels are still open. i got a ride in one of the many ambulances gojng there, which was, i must say, a bit disconcerting. as i came into ao nong, there was complete mayhem. streets closed, police cars and ambulances everywhere, people milling around looking dazed. a guy came up and started filling us in. fifth largest earthqauke ever, massive tuisnami killing thousands. i walked down to the beach, and saw the damage. mud spilled fifty feet back from the headwall ( which saved many people), broken glass, felled trees, boats sitting on the street, sunken boats on the beach. ominously, there were a few search and rescue boats in the water, trolling, looking.

a guy i met said he was standing on the beach when it came. on a side note, i have met some of the most interesting people in the world in the last week; he was one of them.

"i beat cancer...i crashed my bike last night and broke my arm...sharks almost got me twice...and this wave tried to kill me. but not me, i'm not ready to go."

standing there, he saw, like everyone else on all the beaches, the water receeding dramatically. fish are flopping, boats are overturning. then, the thai girls selling foods and things on the beach start screaming run, run, run. a wall of foaming water was coming in, and people were running up to the safety of high ground. those in the water were swept out, then hurtled in, dashed and thrown. the wave broke on the head wall, but that just threw it up and out, as high as the street lights, up the main street. at railey, people saw the receeding water and started running for the mountain. many didn't make it. the stories i heard last night, of the close calls, the not as close calls, the near misses...and those with friends, family and loved ones who were missing are astounding.

one woman i met at dinner was diving at phi phi. this is interesting because one of the women on board our boat had a boyfriend diving at the same area, only early in the day. they were in the water, getting ready to submerge, when the captain of the boat started waving his arms, yelling at them to wait, something wasn't right. as they floated, she looked down and saw a wall of white water rush past her, under her feet and heading for phi phi, where it crashed up and over everything. anyone under water at the time...i haven't seen the woman yet whose boyfriend was diving, but reports of 40 divers missing doesn't sit well.

finally, i made my way to the hotel i had the night before, the one where they rushed to get me on the ferry to phi phi. i think this is where it really hit me that i was very lucky...timing is everything. the staff ran up and started hugging me, the owner kept poking me, asking if i was really ok. (unfortunately for him, as of this morning, his parents are missing.) you so lucky...you so lucky, they kept saying. apparently, they had heard that the boat i was on had been one of the boats to overturn. they thought i had taken a swim, and for those of you that know my swimming abilities, that didn't bode well. the boat that came up to us while we out in front of phi phi was the one that got hit, just behind us.

well, i guess we all have stories of near misses. this is mine. i hope to never have to tell you all about another.

the ambulances keep going by. i'm getting out of here. bangkok, here i come.

"not swimming with the fishes" r.

Here is an article on the topic I just posted about:

[url]http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/6756409/[/url]

Apparently it was 1 hour, not 2.

Regarding the tsunami warning, this region has not seen any in the last hundred years at least. The warning systems are in place in the Pacific as it is more common there. I doubt anyone had forseen such a tragedy would occur. Hopefully something will come out of it (a warning system, that is.).

The following is the list from Los Angeles Times, where relief donations can be sent.

Aid for quake and tsunami victims

These aid agencies are among those accepting contributions for assistance that they or their affiliates will provide for those affected by the earthquake and tsunami in Asia. For links to these and other aid agencies, go to [url]http://www.latimes.com/tsunami[/url] .

American Jewish World Service
45 W. 36th Street, 10th Floor
New York, NY 10018
800-889-7146
[url]http://www.ajws.org[/url]

American Red Cross
International Response Fund
P.O. Box 37243
Washington, DC 20013
800-HELP NOW
[url]http://www.redcross.org[/url]

Catholic Relief Services
P.O. Box 17090
Baltimore, MD 21203-7090
800-736-3467
[url]http://www.catholicrelief.org[/url]

Direct Relief International
27 S. La Patera Lane
Santa Barbara, CA 93117
805-964-4767
[url]http://www.directrelief.org[/url]

Doctors Without Borders/Medecins Sans Frontieres
P.O. Box 2247
New York, NY 10116-2247
888-392-0392
[url]http://www.doctorswithoutborders.org[/url]

International Medical Corps
11500 W. Olympic Blvd., Suite 506
Los Angeles, CA 90064
800-481-4462
[url]http://www.imcworldwide.org[/url]

Operation USA
8320 Melrose Ave., Ste. 200
Los Angles, CA 90069
800-678-7255
[url]http://www.opusa.org[/url]

Troy Husum, a 28-year-old Canadian, was on holiday in Phuket, Thailand. He spoke of the devastation as the waves hit the town of Patong and how survivors are coping.

I felt the quake first at about 0915.
I went out on my balcony in the hotel where I was staying - it was a beautifully calm day - and talked to others on their balconies. The quake felt very slight so we thought little of it.

About 45 minutes later, I noticed that water had receded from Patong Bay. We'd never seen it before and we could hear people on the beach talking about it. You could even see fish flopping around on the beach, which was unusual.

I noticed small kids and tourists walking to where the water had receded, curious as to why the water had gone.

Then I saw it - I noticed people craning their necks and looking out on the horizon. You could see a wall of water about three or four stories high.

I felt like I was watching a movie, it was completely surreal.

It wasn't moving very quickly, it took between four and five minutes until I saw it hit and in that time slowly people started to realise what was happening.

Most disturbing was I saw people literally disappear when the water hit... people were literally swept away

People were saying 'Oh God, what is that?' I thought I was dreaming.

After a few seconds the wave hit and smashed against the beach.

It was incredible, it actually bent the trees, washed everything away - at least 1,000 beach umbrellas were swept along as all the water surged through.

There is a line of cars where people park by the beach and hundreds of bikes, I saw them all picked up like toys and moved along.

Most disturbing was I saw people literally disappear when the water hit.

I saw a lot running, but there were people snoozing on the beach, I saw small children hit. People were literally swept away.

A lot of injuries occurred from people being hit by debris from cars, from bikes.

Running for safety

I thought I should get some pictures because I was staying on the fourth floor of my hotel, but other people on the balconies said we had to get on the roof.

I grabbed my equipment and ran outside into the hall. People were screaming "Go! Go!" I ran up the stairs and saw the water coming.

It flowed up to the third floor, you could see it in the stairwell, some people were completely wet.

We watched the chaos from the roof. The water had already started to recede as we got there.

The hardest part for survivors was actually when water receded - the undercurrent sucked people back into the ocean.

Bodies

The most frightening part was not the wave - it was the panic that ensued.


There were car accidents, people were trying to escape as everyone was positive another wave was coming.

People - mainly local Thais - went up the roads to the mountain and slept up there for safety.

Within an hour I went back to the beach. I saw bodies. The rescue crews were panicking and there was not much control.

Bodies were pulled from the debris - most had clearly drowned. I also saw a number of fractures - one tourist had a very badly broken arm.

You could constantly hear helicopters - they flew up to about one kilometre out to sea to try to rescue people.

Last night most hotels allowed tourists to sleep for free in their lobbies or by the pool and there was still a lot of fear and misinformation about other waves.

Aftermath

This morning the cleanup started. All the foreigners are in disbelief, there are two or three feet of sand in all these devastated restaurants.

There are piles and piles of rubble deep inland - it looks like a bomb has gone off.

Some bars I went to the night before on the beach are completely gone,. All of the palm trees were flatted or removed. How is water capable of doing that?

They are carting out hundreds of cars and bikes and the streets are still covered with sand.

They really should have cordoned off the streets. There has been a little looting, some last night and today. I saw guys with televisions and computers.

There are people staggering around with injuries, I saw a girl with bandage on her head. Today there have also been sirens which have now died down.

They are still pulling people out of the debris. One was a small Thai girl - she must have been there all night but she was still alive.

My deepest sympathies for the all the victoms. There, but for the grace of god, it could have been me. Like many here I have been there a number of times. One can only image how many people (esp. Farangs) would have been sweep out to sea (from the beaches) if the Tsunami had came crashing in at 2 in the afternoon. Or how many would have drown in Patong Beach (Bangla Road) if the Tsunami had rolled in around mid-night.

I would like to add my condolances to the families of people who lost their lives in Phucket.

I also pray for the safety off the people i met when i was there earlier this year from the friendly hotel staff and the girls i met in the bars along bangla road and in particular one bar under the dragon disco.

I hope you are all safe.

Magic,

I will forward your thanks to Thumbs Up, who asked me to post the link, since he is a regular member and it would have taken too long till it would be visible in the forum.

What a mess. I hope the casualty list does not go up. I read somewhere that this type of tsonami only happens every 700 years. Does anybody know more about this?

juice

I guess sometimes mother nature gets its own back. I read somewhere that the earthquake that triggered the tsunami was 1000 times more powerful than the earthquake that killed thousands in Iran.

I was in Phuket and Phi Phi in late October. Just praying now that the dive boat people who took us out are safe and well. In fact, just praying for everyone right now.

condolences to the people of thailand and all our forum friends affected. do hope you guys are safe. thais are known to be resilient and hopefully we can see them forging back next year ... they are freindly people and have given very god memories to us all who have spent time in this lovely country. perhaps we should also do our part by helping the economy by visiting the country again sometime sooner so that they can get back up to speed.

Haiko and Goong,

You have must utmost sympathies!

Here is what I have been able to find so far on the latest pictures of Phuket and all the familiar places. Here is the link :

[url]http://www.thailand-photos.net/gallery/showgallery.php/cat/523[/url]

Reply to MacMac:

I read in the nation that the 4 Thai earthquake specialists were informed about the earthquake and they talked about the possibility of a Tsunami. They assumed that Indonesia would protect the Thai coast and that it was anyway not likely since a Tsunami hadn't occured in the last hundred years. But the most disturbing reason was that they were afraid to issue a warning during peak tourist season: they thought that they would get into deep trouble if it turned out to be warning without anything actually happening. That's where money and the power of the business oppress rational action.

A Thai friend told me recently that some years ago, a Thai minister was talking about the risk of Tsunamis hitting Thailand and he wanted a warning system set up. He was forced to shut up because his motion was considered as harmful for tourism.

Second thought: Many earthquake stations around the globe registered the earthquake but then whom should they inform about what? Should a guy of the USGS call the FBI or the president? Might he be able to talk to some assistant undersecretary after half a day to get this guy call the embassy in Thailand? Thailand doesn't have any special rescue or warning system that we have for example here in Germany. Here, we would hear sirenes, warnings over the radio and TV. But Thailand doesn't have anything comparable and Indonesia and Sri Lanka are in much worse condition any way.

I feel very sorry that often in life, something bad has to happen first before people recognize the need to act appropriately. I know that Thailand will be up and running again soon due to its tourism industry. But what will happen to the affected areas in Sri Lanka and Indonesia, to the poor people that have now lost even the few things they had?