- Readers of the BBC News website have been sending in
their own experiences of the disaster. The following is a selection of
the reports received so far:
-
- I was sleeping in a tent near a beach in a national park
on the east of Phuket airport when I started being shaken around by the
sea (around 10am. I woke up fast as the tidal waves started to wash the
tent away. I could not find the zip and had to tear the tent apart to get
out. I struggled a little bit to rescue the tent and its contents but had
to rapidly let go of the whole thing to save myself. As I escaped, the
water became extremely muddy and the tidal and the forested area made the
escape very difficult. Finally managed to climb onto a tree to get some
relief from the waves of mud and moving objects (cars, trees). After
regaining
some strength, went to rescue a young boy that had been separated from
his parents and was stuck in the branches of a fallen tree (his parents
were very relieved to find us later on at a local dispensary - one of their
friends had not been so lucky and had lost her two kids.) As I escaped
the area, I could apprehend the vastness of the devastation! Alain Diandet,
Phuket, Thailand
-
- I have lived in Rawai Beach, Phuket for the last 10 years
and have seen nothing like this. We are at the south east end of the
island,
and all the boats here are gone. Just around the corner on the west coast
at Phuket's most beautiful beach, Ya Nui beach there is nothing left. There
were two houses on the beach and a restaurant, behind the beach was at
least 25 bungalows they are also completely gone. I have many friends on
this beach and we have already found one dead. I am sure there will be
many more. Tony Bridgse, Phuket Thailand
-
- Bonaborak Thamasamatri, Phuket My second cousin, her
husband and two kids were in Maldives for Christmas and New Year. Just
found out a short while ago that they're alive. They were lying on the
beach when the tidal waves struck! Had to tie their kids to trees or they'd
have been washed away in the waters. Hotels are flattened and all they
have is the swimming costumes they were wearing at the time, everything
else washed away. British Embassy hoping to get them on a flight to Gatwick
tomorrow if possible. At least they're alive, thank God. Graham,
Scotland
-
- I received this email message from Kuredu Hotel Resort
Maldives: "We are pleased to inform you that we have survived from
the earthquake and there was no damage except a little to the Jetty. And
everyone in Kuredu was okey We do not have any telephone service earlier,
but now telephone service is also working." Margaret, UK
-
- We were awake at about 8am this morning when the room
started swaying. We're on the 29th floor. The curtain poles were swinging
as was the umbrella in the wardrobe. I was in the bath (!) at the time
and the water was moving from one end to the other. I guess it can be best
described as like being in a boat on a choppy sea. It seemed to last for
a good 5 minutes or so. It wasn't quick. At first I thought I'd had a few
beers too many the night before - it was my wife who realised that it was
an earthquake. Otherwise it's pretty normal here in Bangkok. Another
beautiful
day albeit with a bit of a scary start! Derek Mansfield, Landmark Hotel,
Bangkok
-
- Am I the only one who has found the tone of the coverage
so far distasteful and inappropriate? Thousands of people have been killed,
whole families and communities wiped out and probably tens (hundreds?)
of thousands more - lucky enough to survive- will be left with absolutely
nothing. Yet the emphasis of the British media so far seems to have been
on the unfortunate British tourists who have had their holidays ruined.
Sean, Wokingham
-
- Our friends Dalene and Gerhard Theron and their daughter
Janine (24) are stuck on a mountain on Phuket, where they were herded from
their hotel. Dalene is wearing only undies and Janine says she has her
see-through nighties on. They were hysterical initially, but are now calmer
and thankful to be alive. They are awaiting rescue by helicopter and hoping
that the South African Embassy will assist them once they are back on firm
soil. Jeanne Rust, Pretoria South Africa
-
- I was on the beach when I saw a big wave coming. I ran
and told everyone to get off the beach now and I ran away hard but the
wave got me and I slid a long way on my bottom into a tree. Then I saw
the ground below and I thought "I die now" but I did not die.
Bonaborak Thamasamatri, Patong Beach Phuket
-
- The "whole of Laguna" is not gone. I was
playing
tennis at the Banyan Tree when the first wave hit and we did not notice
anything at all. However, when we left the Hotel there were traffic queues
on the road that goes out from the Laguna area. Part of the Sheraton and
Dusit hotels in Laguna have been damaged. The worst areas hit in Phuket
are Kata, Patong and Kamala beach on the west coast. Many beach restaurants
and shops have been swept away. Maria Kaye, Phuket
-
- This southern part of the country was hit by tidal waves
in the morning. Water from the world-famous Marina Beach has entered the
prestigious Beach Road, which is almost a half kilometre away from the
seafront, washing away some fishermen on the coast. Buses are not plying
and shops have put up shutters leaving the normal life completely
paralysed.
People are glued to TV to have a glimpse of the latest, and are curious
rather anxious to know about the possibilities of aftershocks. Rajaneesh,
Madras. India
-
- Does anybody else find it significant that this
earthquake
occurred at a time of full Moon, ie spring tides, which pull the rocks
of the Earth just as they do the waters? Mark Burford, Braintree,
England
-
- We are on the holiday resort of Kurumba in the Maldives,
we were hit by the aftershock but from what information we have no one
was killed, just a lot of property damage. The tide came in quickly we
have a barrier but the wave was too big. We heard the island resort of
Full Moon is in much worse shape. Some residents of neighbouring islands
are being brought here to sleep. Not much information here but we do have
BBC and CNN. Evelyn, Evergreen, Colorado
-
- I woke up to what I thought was banging on our hotel
door - it blew open and we were tossed from our bed by the surge of tide
into the room. It broke out the back windows and we were carried out. We
scrambled on to walls and rooftops but within minutes the tide surged
higher
and 15 to 20 feet was not high enough. The buildings around me collapsed
and I was thrown into the surge. When I came up there was a branch I
grabbed
on and held. Surviving the receding tides was hardest. Pinned against a
tree by the water, debris and bodies started to pile up against me and
it felt like I was being crushed. In the end, the whole resort was gone.
There are many others like me - lost, dazed and searching for their loved
ones. Kevin Aldrich, Phang Nga, Thailand
-
- Received a telephone call from my boyfriend who works
at Soneva Gili, a resort in the Maldives at 7.30am GMT (26th), to tell
me what had happened and to say that he thought everyone on the island
was OK. It seemed as though there was little left of the resort and that
food and water supplies had been lost, along with all belongings. Catherine
Lawrence, UK
-
- My best friend and girlfriend went to Sri Lanka for
Xmas...we
haven't heard from them in 2 days . Last text on Sat!! Kyri and Rachael...I
hope u are well and hope you will spend NY with us in UK...xxxx George
Eliades, London
-
- Tsunami has caused an inconceivable damage in Sri Lanka.
Extent of the damage can be visualised by the following facts - a train
with 1500 passengers has washed away, all passengers missing, buses are
seen floating in deep sea with no clue of the passengers on board, some
villages, hotels and markets have washed away leaving no traces. Harshana
Somapriya, Moratuwa, Sri Lanka
-
- The waves that hit us at 8:45 local time were rising
and then receding every 10 mins. This happened at least for three hours.
All our cottages were washed away. This is Sunil from the Fisherman's Cove
- a beach resort off Chennai, India. That's why it does not look like a
single tidal wave as reported. This is something different which needs
to be identified. Sunil Swarup, Mahaballipuram, India
-
- My son Luke Tunbridge and his girlfriend Laura Blackman
are on the island of Ko Lanta. We have no real information as to how
radically
this island is affected. Have tried all day to contact FO on number given
out via media only to get a BT message that the line is busy. Only in this
country would people be expected to tolerate such a lack of information.
Kevin Tunbridge, Bury St. Edmunds Suffolk
-
- Don't forget, news from disaster hit countries is hard
to get. Also, communications from many countries to the UK is difficult
at any time, never mind when telephone and radio links are down - perhaps
get a local radio ham to help. Keith Haywood, Manchester
-
- Today morning at about ten o clock, we heard that our
island has been hit by tsunamis. Here in Sri Lanka we have very little
knowledge about tsunamis, so we all went down to the sea and watched to
our amazement that the sea had receded and everything was calm, so we were
all swimming and fishing, and no one noticed that the sea level had
gradually
risen, until the sea became very rough and within a time space of five
minutes our shores were hit by a large wave. Fortunately we were all able
to escape as the wave was not very large and was slow moving, but still
some houses along the coast were damaged. Kavveen Kanagarajh, Colombo,
Sri Lanka
-
- Lawrence, Belgium Does anyone have any news from Burma?
If tsunamis hit Sri Lanka and India, they certainly have hit the southern
Yangon delta of Burma, and maybe even the capital. I have a few Burmese
friends but my attempts to contact them by phone have all failed. Does
anyone have any news on the situation in southern Burma? Lawrence,
Belgium
-
- My uncle who lives in Kalmunai, Batticaloa in Sri Lanka
had his house destroyed while he was at church a mere 15 minutes away.
Damean, Canada
-
- The State Government of Tamil Nadu would/is already
confused
how to proceed with the situation, as they receive different versions from
people who tend to exaggerate. In the meanwhile, the general public should
be advised not to spread rumours. Everyone likes bedtime stories, but at
this point in time, rightly informing the uneducated and/or shutting up
would be of help. Anand Sundaram, Chennai, India
-
- I just want to let you guys know that those of us living
in the south of Malaysia did no feel much of the earthquake and that we
are all safe and sound... Soren Lofstedt, Malacca, Malaysia
-
- We have just heard from friends and relatives in
Geraldton
(north coast of Western Australia) that they have suffered tremors and
some wave movement at the town beach. The water is said to have hit
approximately
70 metres inland. Louise Baxter, Perth, Western Australia
-
- We were in a pub on the island of Bali when suddenly
a huge wave hit the beach nearby. We scrambled to safety but only after
most of the furniture in the pub had been swept into the sea. We are very
lucky to be alive!! Paul Miller, Dixon, USA
-
- Ali, Male', Maldives Male' is protected by a special
artificial barrier and yet it's flooded and destroyed. The other islands
have no protection; there are thousands of these islands with thousands
of people, including tourists, and there's no form of communication to
even let them know what is happening, and very sadly, thus we fear there
may be thousands dead, including fishermen and divers! Ali, Male',
Maldives
-
- If the earthquake occurred early in the morning and was
recorded on seismic instruments hours before the tidal waves struck, why
wasn't anyone warned? Hopefully we can use this equipment to warn people
instead of just telling them how big the earthquake was afterwards. Eric
Braddom, Shanghai, China
-
- I was driving along Gurney Drive about 13:30, Sunday.
I noticed the sea water has receded. Then I saw a white swell about 2km
from shore. Lots of motorists stopped to take a look. In less than 2
minutes,
then swell became bigger and accelerated towards the shore and flooded
the road. Everyone panicked and tried to drive away. I estimated the wave,
when it reached the shore (from trough to top) was about 2m high. Cheah
Tek Ming, Penang, Malaysia
-
- I stay at a distance of 3kms from the beach, the most
basic fear in people's mind is whether there would be any more repeats
of the tidal wave. We are absolutely clueless... Sudharshun, Chennai
-
- I live in Woodlands, just opposite the causeway to Johor
Bahru Malaysia. I live on the 7th floor of a high rise and didn't feel
a thing. Neither did my partner at work at the National University
Hospital,
on the other side of the tiny island. Anne McGown, Singapore
-
- Why was there no warning about the "Tsunami"
after the earthquake? Where the scientists on holiday? George, Phuket,
Thailand
-
- Matthew Ward, Raley Beach, Thailand Out on a boat all
day so missed the resort I was staying in being completely destroyed. Then
was just about to get into the water to dive when the tidal wave struck.
If we'd been under water we'd have been wiped out. Incredible scenes of
destruction as we tried to return to our beach: hundreds of people stranded
on remote islands; long tail boats submerged and overturned; whole trees
drifting in the water; helicopters and coast guards trying to get to the
injured; and the eeriest thing was sandals and flip flops floating in the
water. Matthew Ward, Raley Beach, Thailand
-
- Myanmar has a coastal area of more than 1300 mile facing
the Bay of Bengal. I think Tsunami didn't spare Myanmar coast. I am
worrying
about those suffering from tidal wave in Myanmar. They will not get any
international help if the world doesn't know about damage at that area.
Aung , Myanmar
-
- 12 to 13 hours after the Indonesian earthquake struck,
a series of 3 small waves arrived at the east coast of Mauritius, 2,500
miles away, causing fairly rapid, non-threatening, 3ft fluctuations(over
periods of about 5 -10 minutes)in the tide level at the fishing village
of Trou D'Eau Douce. Alan C. Brown, Trou D'Eau Douce, Mauritius
-
- Staying in Madras, on the second floor of the Hotel
Alvington.
Woke up this morning noticing a very slight tremble. Hours later the tidal
wave hit - building seemed to bend with the wave, water through our room,
sheer devastation on the streets below and around. Thomas Piper, Sri
Lanka
-
- Lot of rumours are afloat - warning of more tsunami's
- most of the apartment blocks are deserted with people moving inland.
The plight of the fisher folk is sad - some of them have been starving
since morning...the relief effort is hampered due to the sheer size of
the tragedy- there is more than 40 kms of coast line with over 12 fishing
hamlets in Chennai alone... Vijay, Chennai, India
-
- Minakshi, Mauritius I am writing from Mauritius island.
We had our share of tidal waves too in the eastern part of the island.
The authorities went to the beaches to move people away to prevent any
kind of casualties. From the reports of the local TV, it is being said
that there were waves of up to 3m for some 3 hours. According to reports
things have returned to normal. However, Rodrigues island was more touched
since the sea water has flooded some areas of the island. Fortunately,
no one has been killed, whether in Mauritius or Rodrigues Island. I would
like also, to express my deepest regret and sympathy to all those who have
lost their families in this tragedy! Minakshi, Mauritius
-
- We are on holiday here in Phuket. The beach near where
we are staying - Bangtao - has suffered major damage, but mainly to the
fishermen and the people who have shops on the beach. Many of our hotel
staff and their families have been affected, yet remain at work providing
services to their guests like us. All of us fear the final death toll,
and in particular are worried that the many tourists who went out on boat
trips this morning have not returned. Charles Dickson, Phuket,
Thailand
-
- I'm emailing from an internet cafe across the road from
our hotel, Browns Beach in Nygombo. Sitting on the beach terrace having
lunch, and saw an enormous wave heading for us. We all jumped up and ran;
all we could hear was breaking glass and screams. It was chaos; people
were injured by spraying glass, some taken to hospital. The hotel is
devastated
on the ground floor as well as all beach bungalows. The hotel staff are
amazing, having food brought in, looking after the guests. Travel agents
have not even been in touch, we have not a clue what is happening about
being rehoused. There are no hotels free, all booked up. At least 50
families
in the hotel have lost luggage drifting out to sea. It really is bad here.
People are praying in the churches, locals, all leaving town. Jacqui
Walker,
Sri Lanka
-
- The death toll in my state, Kerala, has risen to about
300. The most devastating one was at a church in Velankanni where more
than 2000 people were in morning prayer session when the tides struck.
About 300 deaths are estimated in Velankanni itself and about 500 in the
state as a whole. The water is found continuously flowing towards north
and has now started to rise in its level. Jinesh K J, Trichur, Kerala,
India
-
- http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/
- fr/-/1/hi/talking_point/4125619.stm
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