Tidal wave hits Phuket

[Tada!(sparklesparkle)]

i'm very worry about all the bm's that are in phuket...are you ok?just tell something...
i heard that there are 200 deads in phuket, a lot of scuba divers, and a lot of people in phuket, most of them in patong write something when you can please.
i'm happy that you, nicki, and your wife are ok, hope all of you have had same lucky...

 

[pineapple]

Sounds very bad. Many people on beaches or in diving caves or on small boats were swept out to sea, or suffered deep cuts while being swept into objects near the beaches. A sad black day in Phuket. R.I.P. locals and tourists who have died, and prayers to those suffering critical injuries. 168 confirmed dead in Phuket as of 27th Dec. I fear this figure will go much higher as people report missing family members and resorts report missing tourists.
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Tourists tell of hell in paradise
By Alan Morison
Phuket, Thailand
December 27, 2004

Paradise was ripped asunder yesterday, washed away by a series of freak waves that left the Thai holiday island of Phuket dealing with its biggest disaster in modern times.

At least 168 people and more than 1000 were injured officials, said.

The Government ordered the evacuation of the stricken areas, which included the main beaches of Phuket, popular with tourists and at the height of its holiday season. The tsunami tossed cars around like toys and swept into luxury hotels.

At Wachira Hospital, in Phuket City, doctors and nurses were struggling to cope with scores of injured people.

There, Canadian Don Howie was sitting and counting his blessings. He had bandaged arms and legs, and an amazing story to tell.

The 57-year-old had gone snorkelling at Kata Noi beach about 9am yesterday.

The first Mr Howie knew of the impending disaster was when a gigantic surge sucked the water from under him.

"The sea suddenly surged out for about, oh, 200 metres," he said. "There was nothing left but sand. Luckily, I was left standing on the rocks where I had been looking at the fish and coral.

"Anyone swimming in the middle of the beach must have been dragged well out to sea."

But before he and other snorkellers could react, the first of the series of huge waves pummelled them and swept them from the rocks. Mr Howie suffered cuts and abrasions to his arms and legs as he was swept against the rocks, but kept his head above water enough to survive a dramatic ride into the beach.

He was able to note that one of the waves seemed to him to sweep along the beach sideways.

His wife, Beverly, watching from their third-floor beachfront hotel room, could only look on in mounting horror.

The second wave was the largest, she said.

"I'd say it was about 15 feet (five metres). The water just smashed everything in its path. It came up over the beach, over the road running along the beach front, behind the main part of the hotel, and swept away large four-wheel-drive vehicles.

"Water surged into the hotel lobby of our wing, on the other side of the road, and smashed the windows of shops fronting the street."

Mr Howie and other survivors were quickly moved up a hill to a safe height, where doctors among the vacationers tended to their wounds.

Many people were carried off to hospitals and clinics on the back of pick-ups as rescuers moved through the sandy debris that choked local bars and restaurants.

Others were not as lucky. Several foreign divers were killed when they were hit by tsunamis while about 70 were exploring the famed Emerald Cave off southern Thailand, police said. Rescue workers were trying to extract the survivors.

Australian tourists watched in horror as walls of quake-generated water swept ashore on the resort island.

Australian Raeshell Tang and her husband Mark watched from their hotel room as the tsunami raged ashore at Phuket.

"We just went out on to the balcony to see what the day was going to be like and there it was in front of us - the tidal wave," she said.

Early reports said one tourist had been killed and five were missing after the huge wave struck.

She said many people had suffered cuts and bruises after being caught in the tsunami.

"There were lots of people with many deep cuts," she said. "Lots of blood everywhere." Another Australian tourist in Phuket, Fiona Rudkin, said some tourists were washed away.

"We've just heard that there's been people on the beach that have been washed away," she said.

The wall of water had also done great damage in the town, she said.

West Australian state MP John Hyde described the scene in southern Thailand as one of devastation.

"Just out of nowhere, suddenly the streets are awash and people just running and screaming from the beach," he told ABC television.

"All the windows are blown in. (There's) debris everywhere."

Perth tourist Simon Morse said he saw people being swept along the street.

"People were getting swept along still on their motorbikes on their sides," he told an ABC reporter.

"There were cars that had been picked up by the storm surge and they were getting pushed down the road, taking things out as they went."

Outside Wachira Hospital, one of three public hospitals on the island, officials were posting the names of people who had been admitted for treatment on large boards. A crowd of about 100 people, most of them locals, were waiting anxiously for news of relatives.

It will be days before authorities on the island can gauge the full impact of the disaster. The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade is trying to determine whether any Australians were killed or injured around the region in the earthquake's aftermath.

A department spokesman said inquiries were being made urgently about the welfare of Australians in the region but so far there had been no reports of casualties. "We still don't know at this seforum.xxxe," he said. The spokesman said relatives of Australians who were in the region could contact the department on its hotline, 1800 00 22 14 for assistance.

- with Reuters, AAP

 

[blinky42]

Worst affected areas on Phuket island - Patong, Karon and Laguna.
(I stayed at Laguna last year, it is a huge resort on the West coast of Phuket, just south of the airport. It is situated right on the beach. The tidel wave would have crashed into the Laguna resorts. I fear it has suffered major damage, and many lives lost. It is very popular with Hong Kong and Australian tourists. I'm praying for the thousands of people in Laguna Resort you are safe and are making arrangements to come home. The airport is closed with no flights in or out. The only way off the island is by road, and I heard there is a huge traffic jam with everyone trying to leave. I also heard Phi Phi island is devastated. Everything is gone, with only the two big hotels standing. Many people have drowned at Phi Phi yesterday. R.I.P.
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BREAKING NEWS
This story is from our news.com.au network Source: Reuters

Survivor clung to hotel pillar
By Karishma Vyas in Bangkok
December 26, 2004

UP TO his chest in raging water, Boree Carlsson clung desperately to a pillar in a hotel lobby as a giant tsunami wave pounded Thailand's Phuket island today.

"I just couldn't believe what was happening before my eyes," said Carlsson, a 45-year-old Swede who had rushed into a hotel as the waves rolled into Patong Beach.

The giant wave flooded the hotel lobby in a matter of seconds and dragged furniture onto the street.

Carlsson was forced to wrap himself around a pillar to avoid being swept away.

"As I was standing there, a car actually floated into the lobby and overturned because the current was so strong," said Carlsson, who works at another beachside hotel.

"The water was up to my chest and I was holding onto my friend's hand because he can't swim."

The giant waves triggered by an earthquake under the Indian Ocean tossed cars around like toys and swept into luxury hotels on Phuket, a tourist magnet in Thailand's southern holiday playground, killing at least 120 people, officials said.

The hardest hit areas included Phuket's main resort beaches of Patong, Karon and Laguna where hotels were packed with Western and Asian tourists at the height of the leisure season.

Minutes after the first wave hit, Carlsson said he heard people screaming that the beach had disappeared.

"When I got close to the beach I heard more screaming and suddenly I saw this huge wave, taller than the palm trees, coming to crash down on us. It was unbelievable." Fellow Swede, Ulf Michaelson, 46, who owns the Connect Guesthouse on Patong beach, said the community was in shock.

"Everyone wants information. Nobody knows what's going on. We don't know if it will happen again or if we need to evacuate. We just want some information," he told Reuters.

"We've heard rumours that more waves are going to hit."

Electricity and water was still working in the area, but he said there was no mobile phone connection.

Michaelson said he was completely overwhelmed by the damage.

"There were fridges, overturned cars, sun chairs, tables from restaurants, motorbikes, anything you can think of all over the road," he said.

Christmas and New Year holidays are peak holiday seasons in southern Thailand, and particularly in Phuket, which sees hundreds of thousands of foreign visitors each year.

 

[ChipA]

Reuters are now (6.44pm UK time) giving the number of dead as 11,000 and rising, unreal.

 

[Pompal 09.]

This news is absolutely shocking,my heart goes out to all those affected by this not just in phuket but all ove s.e asia.
my heart sinks when i see pictures of places i have sat drank and ate at turned to rubble.
i have tried to phone friends in patong to make sure they are ok but as many of you are finding the phones are overloaded,my best wishes go to all boardmembers affected by this.....

 

[Mark Anthony]

Destroyed beach at Aonang Krabi Thailand

http://www.webcamthailand.com/Tsunami-2004/tsunami-2004.html


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