30 foot waves in southern Asia

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That's some nasty stuff. And I would know, I'm staying in Phuket at the moment. My hotel has been flooded, I'm pretty much at ground zero here.

I was very fortunate to have been on a fishing trip when the wave hit. We launched at 9:15am Bangkok time and about an hour and 45 minutes later the dock we took off from was reduced to driftwood, yet we didn't even see the wave - as far as I know, we passed over it but didn't even notice! I got back to find that a fair number of people had been killed and my hotel was flooded.

One thing I'm not enjoying is the lack of information provided by the Thai government. My hotel is flooded but I can't get to it because it's on the other side of the island. I can't recover any of my possessions that I had there. I have insurance but I would prefer that my room isn't looted and I can't recover anything. I became friends with a Sweedish Bar owner and even he isn't allowed back to check on his business (he was on the fishing trip with me). I figure his bar will be looted first.

I'll try to keep you guys posted on any new developments.

 

Damn, be carefull out there, and tell that Swede that he can just put the Carlsberg beer out in the front so when the looters taste it they will think that his beer tastes like **** so they won't touch anything else.

 

Simply terrible. I'm especially worried for some friends of mine vacationing on a small island off Kerala; still waiting to hear from them.

Good luck and keep safe, Abomination

 

I feel especially sorry for the tourists here. So far I've met Germans, Itallians, Australians and Brits who don't have anything other than what they were carrying when the wave hit. Most of their important documents - plane tickets, passports, insurance papers - are in their security boxes, in their hotels, where some of the managers have emptied the cash boxes and fled and the tourists can't recover their belongings.

I might not seem too sorry for the Thai people, but as far as I can see none have offered much in the way of assistance to us. Most have been ripping us off, screwing us for every cent we're worth. The price of taxi services has gone through the roof (multiplied about 10 times) even though the number of taxis is pretty much the same. The only assistance and reliable source of information has been from other tourists.

It's quite an interesting culture here, it doesn't matter where you are from - if you're a tourist you're part of a social group that takes care of its own. Soon I'll be visiting a beach where a wave has hit and done a fair amount of damage. I'll take some pictures but I doubt I'll be able to get them online for some time.

I must admit, despite the difficult situation I'm rather enjoying myself. It's rather exciting and anything but boring. The whole 'Tourist Community' that was rather strong in Thailand before is now unshakeable. I've seen mixed groups of tourists who have just formed groups together after the disaster simply because they were staying in the same area of a beach and they figure better to pool their resources.

Anything anyone wants to know about the general situation?

 

Eh....over 20000 thousend casualties now. Doesn't that decrease you mirth somewhat?

 

There were only 4 heavier tsunamis in the last hundred years. I'm glad you're not one of the already 23.500 deaths. My brother wanted to go to Thailand half January. I wonder if he still wants to.

 

That is the textbook thing to do when a tsunami comes - go to the sea! They do this all the time in Japan when tsunami warnings are broadcasted. Boy, did you get lucky. The waves only become big when the ocean depth gets small, ie: close to shore. So that's why you saw nothing.

But yeah, shouldn't you be trying to leave that place?

I think he should wait until the hype and tragedy over this event has cooled off. The scary thing now is being ripped off and swindled, not another tsunami or 8.5 earthquake.

 

Hmm...some cousins of mine were staying in Chennai, (one of the worst affected places in India) when it hit. Half the city is flooded and the airport is closed.

They've come over till things clear up right now...

 

I can't actually see why. The thing has been and gone. Shouldn't everyone stay as far away from beaches as possible since these things can strike anywhere, anytime? Shouldn't we all stay as far away from fault lines as possible in case of earthquake or volcano? These things are impossible to predict with modern technology and the fact that it could happen shouldn't drive people away from going to the beach or something. However early warning systems could have saved many lives especially considering it took the wave about THREE HOURS to reach Thailand and it should remind people to always carry important documents on their person and be insured.

Despite that, I'm in Bangkok now. I had already booked to return today before The Wave hit. I went back to Patong beach to pick up some stuff I left there and the stench of dead bodies was something I don't want to experience again. What was a bar I used to enjoy is now a few overturned chairs and broken bottles. Seeing a diver pull bodies out from an underground mall - the blue bloated bodies of drown victims - is difficult to describe in full detail.

The Thai hospitality industry has opened up now, offering free food, accommodation and services to tourists who have lost possessions to The Wave. Thankfully I was able to recover everything - my floor in the hotel I was staying only saw a bit of water - but getting things out was another matter. If you want a free T-shirt, bag or sunglasses and don't mind cleaning sand out of them: come to Thailand. There are so many to choose from - it's not stealing, there's no way of identifying who they belong to.

From a business point of view, most of the shops, restaurants and bars were not insured and now lay in ruins. It'll take this part of the island a LONG time to recover economically. Many of the tourists there are 'repeat visitors' who now might not want to ever return due to the emotional scars.

 

Blog is absolutely correct in his statements.

When an earthquake occurs under water, as was the case here, it sends out - for lack of a better term - a shock wave through the ocean. However, it stays beneath the surface until the ocean depth becomes much more shallow - usually less than a mile away from land. So unless you were on a boat relatively close to shore, the wave would pass beneath your boat, and chances are you wouldn't notice a thing. Closer to land however, and you're in deep trouble. There were many people killed in fishing boats who were within a mile of the shoreline.

 

Well, when I checked the msn.ca headlines 10 minutes ago, the death toll was 42,000. Now it says 50,000. Where it will end up is anyone's guess.

Glad you're safe, Abomination. This is absolutely horrific.

 

Well, this thing really helped me find religion...kinda. I live in Singapore, a tiny island practically right next to where the earthquake happened, and amazingly, the island isn't underwater, or damaged in anyway. Also I had friends up at Phuket, around the Patong beach area, when it hit, so I was really relieved when I found out that they got back safe and sound.

 

Current death-toll is near 77,000, and the Red Cross says this could pass 100,000. Goodness knows how many more people will die of illness before this whole mess is sorted out.

It's almost mind-numbing, the scale of it.

 

Have you seen the amateur videos on the net? I saw one shot by a swede, and well, the wave was HUGE. I was looking shocked at the screen in about five minutes with my mouth open, even after, when the sports had began.

 

Well after much paiinful waiting Ive heard back from all my friends in Thailand and they're all safe, my thoughts are with all of those who have lost friends and family... I just hope that the death toll doesnt rise any more...

 

Over 120,000.

I'm proud to say that the UK has pledged at least £75m (£50m from the government, the rest from the people, and that's still rising) to help the countries affected.

The false alarm given by the Indian government about a second tsunami was decidedly unwelcome, I'm sure.

 

Very sad.

UK giving money. Ah, nice. What a lovely selfless nation we are.

A faltering NHS system, struggling police force, under-funded education system, unbelievable student bills, rising crime problems; yet the government still finds £50m of taxpayers money to help other nations. I am so proud.

Anyone how many other countries have offered such aid?

 

U.S. contribution was $35 mil as of Wednesday.
With the death toll at 120K+, it's like the population of my home city being wiped out 1 1/2 times over. Simply unimaginable.

Best of luck to Abomination and other SP'ers in the affected area...

 

Here in Sweden the only thing people are doing is whining and complaining that the Swedish government wasnt prepared for such a situation and that it did not react quickly enough. How the hell can you be prepared for something like this?! I also find it quite understandable that it takes a while to realise the magnitude of the disaster, media who are the biggest whiners took just as long to grasp the magnitude as the government.

I find it sad that even in a natural disaster people are looking for someone to blame. Especially since what all these people who complain are talking about are pretty much only the Swedish tourists, almost all of them in Thailand. 120.000+ people have died and the *surviving* Swedish tourists are going ballistic because they havent got a ride home yet and because the injured people do not have medical personell who speak Swedish, in Thailand. I would have thought that surviving such a situation would be enough, that you would be grateful for your luck for years to come but apparently the first thing you do when you survive one of the greatest disasters in history is to complain that your government thousands of miles arent picking you up or sending down Swedish speaking nurses to treat your wounds.