Monday, April 25, 2005
Ok.. It's been a while since my last piece (I've been writing finals). So in order to keep interest in this page I'm going to post an email (with permission) from a fellow world traveller. He was in Thailand on Dec 26 when the Tsunami hit...
Here's his story:
>>>These are the events that I can recall to the best of my knowledge that occurred on Dec. 26th 2004. Boxing Day. I have picked a new name for it: “Tsunami Day”.
The morning started off not too different from any other morning since we’d arrived at Hat Khao Lak, Phangnga province. Hat means beach in Thai and Khao Lak means something like Dependable Mountain. It took us about 12 hours to get there by bus from Bangkok. We found the perfect bungalow, 15 feet from the beach, the very last one at the end of the Garden Beach Resort.
It was 10 am when the noise outside the bungalow was too loud to sleep. There seemed to be more people in front of our place than usual. I figured a large group had settled on the sand and just had a lot to talk about. But there was something else too: the sound of the water was louder and, for lack of a better word, unusual.
I jumped out of bed and looked out the front window. At first I wasn’t sure what I was seeing. The rocks, which were usually only barely visible at low tide, had now grown to the size of a two-story apartment building. The edge of the water was at least 200 metres further out than normal. But since we’d only been there for three days, I wasn’t sure what ‘normal’ really was. But the strangest thing was how the water looked.
I told Chandra to come and look at it, but when she came to the window she couldn’t see because she didn’t have her glasses on. While Chandra went to put her contacts on, I pulled on some shorts, grabbed the camcorder and ran out the door to capture a great video moment. Within just a couple steps I was standing on the beach filming this bizarre scene. There were many people on the beach, all talking about what we were seeing. I took a slow pan shot of most of the shoreline and then I saw a coastguard boat to the right, just behind the now distant water’s edge. What was it doing there? I didn’t have a clue but it made me think that if it was there, then there was no danger.
I zoomed in for a closer look.. My heart instantly sank. What I had thought was the shoreline wasn’t a shoreline at all, but the retreat of the water back into the ocean. I had seen this once before on the Discovery Channel.
It was probably 10:02 am by now, and just as I pulled down the video camera and looked at all the people standing on the beach someone screamed: “Here it comes!”
Out of the corner of my eye I saw the water change direction: it was coming at us now.
Like a gunshot, I was at the foot of our bungalow stairs in two giant steps. The water was already by the trees in front of the bungalow. When Chandra came out of the bathroom, the roar of the water was thundering outside. She screamed: “WhatÂ’s happening?” but I had no response. Then suddenly the door of our bungalow opened and two strangers came in. they were probably thinking, like I was, that the bungalow would give us some sort of protection. In the first few seconds of the water rushing against the front of the bungalow I thought we might be safe. None of us said a word and then it hit.
In its fury, the water picked up the bungalow off its stilts. The floor planks sprang up, one by one as the water sprayed our bodies. I screamed for everyone to get on the mattress and at that moment the big one came.
The walls of the room fell apart as if they were made of paper. The once dark room was suddenly filled with light for an instant before it was extinguished again by the immense flood of water. We rose to the ceiling only for a second when the next wave completely destroyed what was left of our most inadequate sanctuary. If any one of us had screamed, we wouldn’t have heard each other through the deafening roar of the water. My hope that the mattress could carry us to safety was shattered in an instant. With no warning or time to take a breath, we all went under, the water churning us around as if we were leaves in the wind.
It was probably 10:03 by now and I can’t remember if I opened my eyes or not. I had no sens of what what was up or down, had no control over what was happening and I couldn’t hold my breath. Someone had once told me that drowning was a painless way to die, that once your lungs filled with water, the pain would cease and unconsciousness would follow.
I could no longer fight the force of nature that was keeping me under the water. My body’s physiological response to the lack of oxygen was becoming too great for me to fight against. But at that moment the ocean released its grip and allowed my body to surface.
The water was deep. I could only see the peaks of rooftops among the dark slurry of sand and mud. The current was strong as it tried to pull us back into the sea, but I managed to grab hold of the ventilation grill of a bungalow which kept me what I considered to be safe, away from the open water which I thought would be more dangerous. At that moment, the current pulled Chandra past me. I yelled for her to grab on to the roof which was near her but it wasn’t over yet: The next wave, mauybe even bigger than the last one crashed over me and under I went. This time my leg caught between rubble and my efforts to break free were useless. Once again, I reached a point where I struggled to hold my breath and this time found myself asking: “Is this it this time? Is this really going to be the end?”
The ocean seemed to reply when suddenly the tide shifted and freed me. Now with my eyes open I swam to the surface. My body was under constant assault from the debris and the current swirled it everywhere, and once again I was let go. But it didn’t last long. The next wave thrashed my body into the floating pieces of what once were the buildings of our resort, and the final blow struck the top of my head. My arms and legs went limp. Still conscious, I let my body float under the water and waited for either the end or for something to change. I raised my head to the surface and it seemed to be over. The surge of water wasn’t so strong anymore and I found myself just floating among the debris. I began to shake as I realized what was happening: the water wanted to return to where it came form. I was being sucked out to the sea. I had no more strength left. All I could do was keep my head above the water. I saw people far ahead of me but I didn’t know if they were alive or dead.
A freezer was floating in the distance but it was too far for me to swim to, but then I noticed a fallen coconut palm tree. It was wedged between two standing trees with debris surrounding it. I submerged myself and found myself in the calm of this natural dam. The palm leaves were within reach so I grabbed hold of one, hoping it would support my weight. Without any strength left, I managed to pull myself on top of the trapped debris and then onto the fallen tree. I hung all for all I could.
Then I heard a voice cry for help. I turned around to see a man trapped in the same current that carried me to the tree. I told him I wasn’t strong enough to move. He grabbed onto the tree but he was too weak to hang on. I could only encourage him to keep trying but he was failing and I was afraid to let him go. I started screaming like a drill sergeant. “You have to try!”, I kept yelling over and over and I slowly got witin arm’s reach of him and pulled him into the safety of my dam. By now it was probably 10:10 am.
It wasn’t long before most of the water returned to the sea. Pools of water were left behind but no visual trace of what was once an area lined with bungalows. I asked the man laying next to me if he was able to walk. He said he was too exhausted and wanted to rest, so I left him.
It was really strange. I had no idea where I was because nothing was recognizable. I could only see a few people. They were heading inland to what I could see was a road. I headed off in their direction. Along the way I met a man who lay against a tree. He was alive but I was in no condition to help him out so I told him he’d be okay and I would tell someone to come back for him. Further up the road a man was helping an old woman. I told him that I would assist her if he could go back to the gentleman by the tree.
My body began to burn. Scratches and salt water don’t mix well. A truck came down the road and picked up the old woman and a few others who were badly injured. Then a group of Thai men and women came up to the truck. I begged them for some footwear and a Thai woman gave me her thongs. I was heading back to the beach to find Chandra.
Another road led to the beach and there were one or two people walking up it but even more people there needed assistance. As I approached them someone called out from the beach that another wave was coming.
My heart sank. My desire to find Chandra was immense but the fear of what I had already gone through paralyzed me. The people in front of me needed my help and that’s as far as I could go.
When the truck was loaded up I hobbled slowly up the service road. By myself now, I stopped beside the rubber trees, staring back to the beach. Confused and in pain I stood there with no idea of what to do. I had a moment with God, but being an atheist it didn’t last long. I found myself cursing a being that I didn’t even believe in. I became numb at that point.
There were many people across the street. One man had a hose and was rinsing himself so I thought I would do the same. I was covered in cuts from head to toe and a flap of skin was hanging from my arm. The man gave me the hose and I started pouring it over my head and body but the sensation of burning flesh felt like I was pouring acid over me. I dropped the hose and sat down among the assembled injured. I sat there and silently screamed.
I’m not sure where I was. A cafe? A scooter rental shop? There were people around with a boy scout first aid kit, but something was better than nothing. They offered me aspirin for the pain but I’m allergic to aspirin. There was no gauze or anything else. I asked if there was a pharmacy but was told it was closed.
A man came in and told us that we all had to move ourselves to safety, behind the building because another wave was coming and this wave seemed to be even bigger than the other ones. We helped the badly injured and then just as we got to the safer place, we were told there were vehicles to take us to higher ground.
The man who had joined me on my dam was there now, and so was the man I had left by the tree. We arrived at the safe point where there were already so many people. As I got to the back of the crowd I screamed Chandra’s name but got no answer. I was guilty of failing to take care of Chandra and to protect her. Tears poured as I lost control again. And then I became aware of the other people who were still alive. I started to triage and treat as many people as I could. I worked my way up and down the hill, even though it had been so long since I had dealt with death or with people who were injured. My textbook knowledge, mock casualty exercises from the military and the years hanging around the hospital emergency rooom seemed to come back to me. By helping others and hearing how people had lost a husband or child managed to mask the real pain I was feeling. We were all suffering together.
I made it to the top of the hill and we didn’t have much for supplies. Many wounds simply couldn’t be dressed. While talking to some other first-aiders, I mentioned there was a pharmacy at the bottom of the hill and suggested sending someone to break in if necessary to get pain relievers and bandages. I wasn’t that serious when I said it, but I guess they thought it was a good idea. So, we got what we needed, plus sterile water and antiseptic solutions and drinking water. Gauze was in very short supply so we started cutting up sarongs and whatever else we could use for dressings.
A woman close to the top of the hill hadna’t been looked at yet so I asked her what injuries she had. She told me and then asked if I was a doctor. I said no, but I was a medic in the Canadian Military. I did what I could for her and that was when a boy, about 12 years old came and told me: “That woman over there wants you to go and see her.” I grabbed my supplies and followed the boy.
Maybe it was the dirt and sand in my eye, or maybe it was because of the painful stories I heard from other people, but for whatever reason, I couldn’t see what I was looking at.
It wasn’t until I was just five feet from her that I realized who she was: Chandra.
=======================================
Prologue:
Dan and Chandra are Back home and fine now.
Here's his story:
>>>These are the events that I can recall to the best of my knowledge that occurred on Dec. 26th 2004. Boxing Day. I have picked a new name for it: “Tsunami Day”.
The morning started off not too different from any other morning since we’d arrived at Hat Khao Lak, Phangnga province. Hat means beach in Thai and Khao Lak means something like Dependable Mountain. It took us about 12 hours to get there by bus from Bangkok. We found the perfect bungalow, 15 feet from the beach, the very last one at the end of the Garden Beach Resort.
It was 10 am when the noise outside the bungalow was too loud to sleep. There seemed to be more people in front of our place than usual. I figured a large group had settled on the sand and just had a lot to talk about. But there was something else too: the sound of the water was louder and, for lack of a better word, unusual.
I jumped out of bed and looked out the front window. At first I wasn’t sure what I was seeing. The rocks, which were usually only barely visible at low tide, had now grown to the size of a two-story apartment building. The edge of the water was at least 200 metres further out than normal. But since we’d only been there for three days, I wasn’t sure what ‘normal’ really was. But the strangest thing was how the water looked.
I told Chandra to come and look at it, but when she came to the window she couldn’t see because she didn’t have her glasses on. While Chandra went to put her contacts on, I pulled on some shorts, grabbed the camcorder and ran out the door to capture a great video moment. Within just a couple steps I was standing on the beach filming this bizarre scene. There were many people on the beach, all talking about what we were seeing. I took a slow pan shot of most of the shoreline and then I saw a coastguard boat to the right, just behind the now distant water’s edge. What was it doing there? I didn’t have a clue but it made me think that if it was there, then there was no danger.
I zoomed in for a closer look.. My heart instantly sank. What I had thought was the shoreline wasn’t a shoreline at all, but the retreat of the water back into the ocean. I had seen this once before on the Discovery Channel.
It was probably 10:02 am by now, and just as I pulled down the video camera and looked at all the people standing on the beach someone screamed: “Here it comes!”
Out of the corner of my eye I saw the water change direction: it was coming at us now.
Like a gunshot, I was at the foot of our bungalow stairs in two giant steps. The water was already by the trees in front of the bungalow. When Chandra came out of the bathroom, the roar of the water was thundering outside. She screamed: “WhatÂ’s happening?” but I had no response. Then suddenly the door of our bungalow opened and two strangers came in. they were probably thinking, like I was, that the bungalow would give us some sort of protection. In the first few seconds of the water rushing against the front of the bungalow I thought we might be safe. None of us said a word and then it hit.
In its fury, the water picked up the bungalow off its stilts. The floor planks sprang up, one by one as the water sprayed our bodies. I screamed for everyone to get on the mattress and at that moment the big one came.
The walls of the room fell apart as if they were made of paper. The once dark room was suddenly filled with light for an instant before it was extinguished again by the immense flood of water. We rose to the ceiling only for a second when the next wave completely destroyed what was left of our most inadequate sanctuary. If any one of us had screamed, we wouldn’t have heard each other through the deafening roar of the water. My hope that the mattress could carry us to safety was shattered in an instant. With no warning or time to take a breath, we all went under, the water churning us around as if we were leaves in the wind.
It was probably 10:03 by now and I can’t remember if I opened my eyes or not. I had no sens of what what was up or down, had no control over what was happening and I couldn’t hold my breath. Someone had once told me that drowning was a painless way to die, that once your lungs filled with water, the pain would cease and unconsciousness would follow.
I could no longer fight the force of nature that was keeping me under the water. My body’s physiological response to the lack of oxygen was becoming too great for me to fight against. But at that moment the ocean released its grip and allowed my body to surface.
The water was deep. I could only see the peaks of rooftops among the dark slurry of sand and mud. The current was strong as it tried to pull us back into the sea, but I managed to grab hold of the ventilation grill of a bungalow which kept me what I considered to be safe, away from the open water which I thought would be more dangerous. At that moment, the current pulled Chandra past me. I yelled for her to grab on to the roof which was near her but it wasn’t over yet: The next wave, mauybe even bigger than the last one crashed over me and under I went. This time my leg caught between rubble and my efforts to break free were useless. Once again, I reached a point where I struggled to hold my breath and this time found myself asking: “Is this it this time? Is this really going to be the end?”
The ocean seemed to reply when suddenly the tide shifted and freed me. Now with my eyes open I swam to the surface. My body was under constant assault from the debris and the current swirled it everywhere, and once again I was let go. But it didn’t last long. The next wave thrashed my body into the floating pieces of what once were the buildings of our resort, and the final blow struck the top of my head. My arms and legs went limp. Still conscious, I let my body float under the water and waited for either the end or for something to change. I raised my head to the surface and it seemed to be over. The surge of water wasn’t so strong anymore and I found myself just floating among the debris. I began to shake as I realized what was happening: the water wanted to return to where it came form. I was being sucked out to the sea. I had no more strength left. All I could do was keep my head above the water. I saw people far ahead of me but I didn’t know if they were alive or dead.
A freezer was floating in the distance but it was too far for me to swim to, but then I noticed a fallen coconut palm tree. It was wedged between two standing trees with debris surrounding it. I submerged myself and found myself in the calm of this natural dam. The palm leaves were within reach so I grabbed hold of one, hoping it would support my weight. Without any strength left, I managed to pull myself on top of the trapped debris and then onto the fallen tree. I hung all for all I could.
Then I heard a voice cry for help. I turned around to see a man trapped in the same current that carried me to the tree. I told him I wasn’t strong enough to move. He grabbed onto the tree but he was too weak to hang on. I could only encourage him to keep trying but he was failing and I was afraid to let him go. I started screaming like a drill sergeant. “You have to try!”, I kept yelling over and over and I slowly got witin arm’s reach of him and pulled him into the safety of my dam. By now it was probably 10:10 am.
It wasn’t long before most of the water returned to the sea. Pools of water were left behind but no visual trace of what was once an area lined with bungalows. I asked the man laying next to me if he was able to walk. He said he was too exhausted and wanted to rest, so I left him.
It was really strange. I had no idea where I was because nothing was recognizable. I could only see a few people. They were heading inland to what I could see was a road. I headed off in their direction. Along the way I met a man who lay against a tree. He was alive but I was in no condition to help him out so I told him he’d be okay and I would tell someone to come back for him. Further up the road a man was helping an old woman. I told him that I would assist her if he could go back to the gentleman by the tree.
My body began to burn. Scratches and salt water don’t mix well. A truck came down the road and picked up the old woman and a few others who were badly injured. Then a group of Thai men and women came up to the truck. I begged them for some footwear and a Thai woman gave me her thongs. I was heading back to the beach to find Chandra.
Another road led to the beach and there were one or two people walking up it but even more people there needed assistance. As I approached them someone called out from the beach that another wave was coming.
My heart sank. My desire to find Chandra was immense but the fear of what I had already gone through paralyzed me. The people in front of me needed my help and that’s as far as I could go.
When the truck was loaded up I hobbled slowly up the service road. By myself now, I stopped beside the rubber trees, staring back to the beach. Confused and in pain I stood there with no idea of what to do. I had a moment with God, but being an atheist it didn’t last long. I found myself cursing a being that I didn’t even believe in. I became numb at that point.
There were many people across the street. One man had a hose and was rinsing himself so I thought I would do the same. I was covered in cuts from head to toe and a flap of skin was hanging from my arm. The man gave me the hose and I started pouring it over my head and body but the sensation of burning flesh felt like I was pouring acid over me. I dropped the hose and sat down among the assembled injured. I sat there and silently screamed.
I’m not sure where I was. A cafe? A scooter rental shop? There were people around with a boy scout first aid kit, but something was better than nothing. They offered me aspirin for the pain but I’m allergic to aspirin. There was no gauze or anything else. I asked if there was a pharmacy but was told it was closed.
A man came in and told us that we all had to move ourselves to safety, behind the building because another wave was coming and this wave seemed to be even bigger than the other ones. We helped the badly injured and then just as we got to the safer place, we were told there were vehicles to take us to higher ground.
The man who had joined me on my dam was there now, and so was the man I had left by the tree. We arrived at the safe point where there were already so many people. As I got to the back of the crowd I screamed Chandra’s name but got no answer. I was guilty of failing to take care of Chandra and to protect her. Tears poured as I lost control again. And then I became aware of the other people who were still alive. I started to triage and treat as many people as I could. I worked my way up and down the hill, even though it had been so long since I had dealt with death or with people who were injured. My textbook knowledge, mock casualty exercises from the military and the years hanging around the hospital emergency rooom seemed to come back to me. By helping others and hearing how people had lost a husband or child managed to mask the real pain I was feeling. We were all suffering together.
I made it to the top of the hill and we didn’t have much for supplies. Many wounds simply couldn’t be dressed. While talking to some other first-aiders, I mentioned there was a pharmacy at the bottom of the hill and suggested sending someone to break in if necessary to get pain relievers and bandages. I wasn’t that serious when I said it, but I guess they thought it was a good idea. So, we got what we needed, plus sterile water and antiseptic solutions and drinking water. Gauze was in very short supply so we started cutting up sarongs and whatever else we could use for dressings.
A woman close to the top of the hill hadna’t been looked at yet so I asked her what injuries she had. She told me and then asked if I was a doctor. I said no, but I was a medic in the Canadian Military. I did what I could for her and that was when a boy, about 12 years old came and told me: “That woman over there wants you to go and see her.” I grabbed my supplies and followed the boy.
Maybe it was the dirt and sand in my eye, or maybe it was because of the painful stories I heard from other people, but for whatever reason, I couldn’t see what I was looking at.
It wasn’t until I was just five feet from her that I realized who she was: Chandra.
=======================================
Prologue:
Dan and Chandra are Back home and fine now.
