Saturday, January 12, 2008

The Big One: Tsunami strikes Phuket


On December 26, 2004, a tsunami hit Phuket, Thailand and the Indian Ocean region. More than 120,000 deaths were reported. Among the survivors was John Gray, founder of John Gray's Sea Canoe, who recounts that fateful morning.

The tremors started at 07:58am. The long, low frequency shakes lasted for two minutes. It wasn’t the shattering, sharp jolt one expects from a California quake, but the feeling was ominous. The length and frequency said this quake was a long way off, and very strong. I also knew from my Phang Nga Bay geology research that any active fault-lines were to the west of Phuket, in the Indian Ocean. The tremors lasted long enough to put a bowl of water on the floor to verify the shakes. Sure enough, the water was rippling.

Once the tremors stopped, I mentioned tsunami, but the novelty of an earthquake – successfully survived – was euphoric. Everybody laughed while I talked about the ‘Big One’. We still knew nothing about the quake and its direction, only that it was a long way off.

There hasn’t be a significant tsunami since 1883, when the Indonesian island of Krakatoa exploded. It was volcanic in origin and generations past. Official reports say 36,000, but we know that perhaps 500,000 died in the unnamed coastal villages of a century past. If there was a tsunami, Hawaii’s history says that lack of awareness not only adds to the danger, it is the danger.

On the Internet, I immediately went to the U.S. Geological Service. Only 15 minutes after the shake, there it was – 8.3 tremor off the west coast of Sumatra. This was a Biggie. It grew to 9.0 – massive – and an aftershock was 7.3.

The Indian Ocean doesn’t have a warning system, so my next stop was Pacific Tsunami Warning Center. Their words were prophetic but typically bureaucratic. An “Event” occurred in the Indian Ocean west of Sumatra, but would have no impact upon the Pacific Basin. Thanks for the news, guys.

Maybe Australia. This “event” could impact Western Australia. I e-mailed the Australia Meteorology Bureau at exactly 9:00am:

Any info on this morning's Sumatra quake and possible tsunami generation? If any tsunami were generated I need to know fast?

The response took 24 minutes. Not bad, but not good enough.

Dear Ling Yai,

We have received an advice from the Tsunami Warning Center in Hawaii. They opine that a tsunami threat does not exist for the Pacific. However, they do not discount the possibility of a tsunami near the epicenter, which was off the west coast of Northern Sumatra.
We have no further information.

A few minutes later, the wave hit.

My response was not as polite.

Sawasdee,

I read the same advisory from Hawaii. By now you have the news on the devastating tsunami here in Thailand and SE Asia. As a 20-year Hawaii resident and Chairman, Coastal resources Committee of the Hawaii Marine Master plan from 1986-90, I am well acquainted with the Pacific Basin Long-range alert system. Now that the Barn Door is open and hundreds have lost their lives, maybe it's time for one in the Indian Ocean. From even before I came to Thailand I was well aware of the Sumatra/Andaman fault line and it's potential for generating tsunami's. If a simple-minded Big Monkey can see the future - and now the result, It’s time to develop a similar international system for the Indian Ocean. Very frustrating for me to see today's fatalities - all due to lack of warning and education.

Ling Yai

Between e-mails, I called three hotels to watch for receding waters. On Sunday morning after Christmas, I was unable to contact any managers so I called my guide staff together, told them to watch for rapidly receding waters and sent them out to pick up our guests. I told my escort boat captain to move from the pier to deep waters.

Reports soon came from Patong and Bang Tao. My Patong transfer guide saw the wave hit. I told him to get over the hill. My Bang Tao transfer guide reported he couldn’t reach the hotel for the devastation.

I reminded everybody to look for receding waters and go to Ao Po, on Phuket’s East Coast. I soon got a phone call that waters in Ao Po were dropping fast. My wife told them to evacuate immediately. They got our guests off the pier office with grace and speed, and warned the waterfront shopkeepers to run up the hill. Our escort boat shook from the tsunami but survived. Nobody in Ao Po was hurt. If the tsunami wrapped around to the northeast corner of Phuket, it was a biggie. My prediction of hundreds dead immediately changed to thousands.

I was surprised that the wave wrapped around Sumatra’s North Point with such strength. Sri Lanka and India were in the direct line of fire, but Phuket was a 70-degree turn for any defocused waves. Thousands died – we will never know how many – but the blessing was that the tsunami was seriously depleted in relation to the full strength version that hit Sri Lanka.

Any low-lying area was serious trouble. Patong took a strong hit, and we’ve all seen the videos of rivers rushing down the sois. From the geography it was obvious that the further north the wave went, the stronger it was. Bang Tao simply exploded. Shops behind the hotels have pick-up trucks in their showrooms. Laguna wasn’t as bad because the beach is a bit higher and the hotels are setback from the beaches (a trend started by environmental planning).

At J.W. Marriott, the alert food and beverage manager was on the beach. He didn’t understand the ocean’s drop, but he did have the presence to evacuate the beach, saving everybody in front of the hotel. Just further north, 30 beachgoers died at a luxury hotel without a similar warning. Worst hit was the fairly new resort of Khao Lak, set right on the beach.

My survey from Khao Lak to Kata Noi was predictable. Any hotel set up ten meters or more on a cliff, bluff or mountainside escaped devastation. Windows were broken and guests were terrified, but disaster passed below.

It was simply the luck of the draw. Millionaires in low-lying beachfront villas were swamped, backpackers in off-the-beach bungalows unaffected.

Thailand will bounce back fairly soon.

Hotels cleaned out their lobbies are already for check-in.

We ran a sea canoe daytrip for 20 people on December 28 -- only 40 hours after the tsunami. Pa Nga Bay was calm and beautiful. A lizard swam the still waters at the base of majestic cliffs.

On December 30 I took an overnight trip with Hawaii people who grew up with tsunamis. We know the Big One can be devastating and deadly, but once it’s gone, it’s gone.

It’s time to recover. The best assistance Thailand can get is tourism support.

I was amazed at how professional the police, military and disaster services were. Thousands of Thais performed as professional who would make Hawaii Civil Defense system jealous. With no tsunamis for generations, the Indian Ocean basin may have slept through the warning signs, but Thailand can be proud of our very professional reaction to this terrible time.

What is over is over. Thailand is not Sri Lanka. Water is clean, rescue and clean-up well organized. 200 metes behind the beach, life goes on. Need drinking water? The big department stores and a thousand local shops can sell you some. Restaurants are already back in business. The clean up will be a matter of weeks.

What the Kingdom really needs now is for those who loved us the first time around to return and give their support.

Knowing Thai people, we will welcome you with open arms.

(Photo credit: Electrostico via Flickr)