There was an earthquake in Indonesia this morning. It caused tidal waves in India, Thailand, Sri Lanka, etc.
Here's a quote from a tourist that was staying in the exact same hotel where we stayed for three days, less than one month ago:
Swedish tourist Kjell Sköld, of Gothenburg, has described how the rising waters of the wave trapped him, his wife, Bibi, and their young children in their bungalow at Andaman Bay Resort, at Bang Tao.“The water went out then came back in very, very quickly, taking everything with it,” said Mr Sköld. “When the water came into the bungalow, we put everything on the beds … all the windows were closed, so the water kept pushing everything up towards the roof. It pushed us up to the roof, then the roof came off and we floated away.”
After being washed down to land, Mr and Mrs Sköld managed to get their seven-year-old daughter, Stephanie, to safety in a high cement building, but then realized that their 10-year-old son, Sebastian, was missing.
He was found a few minutes later, about 200 meters away, sitting in a tree the flood had swept him to. “I can’t put into words what it feels like to be missing your son,” said Mr Sköld.
Posted on December 26, 2004 11:28 AM
More personal articles
Do you have any recommendations for donating to organizations that are providing aid and relief to the survivors?
Posted by: Michael Tucker at December 29, 2004 11:47 AMThe only thing I know is that Americares needs cash donations in order to be able to fly medicine to the affected areas. So maybe they'd be a good choice.
Posted by: Kim at December 29, 2004 02:06 PMInfo and places to donate at Google's Tsumani Relief page.
Posted by: trashtalker#1 at January 3, 2005 01:11 PMAccording to a post in soc.culture.thai:
Bangtao Beach: There is extensive damage along the southern portion of the beach, bungalows completely washed away, even newly opened shops on the road behind the beach. However, around the Laguna Resorts only minimal damage. Clean-up work underway, and the hotels there should be back to normal operation by New Year's Eve. The new resort in the Bay at the northern end of the Beach, which was still under construction was extensively damaged, but the existing resort at the same place on the land side of the road is untouched.
We were staying at the southern end of the beach, in the bungalows that were washed away.
Posted by: Kim at January 6, 2005 10:15 PM