When going on a trip, you should learn not only about the beauties and attractions of your chosen place, but also about the possible dangers that may await you there. For example, what do you know about tsunami in Thailand?
There is no country in Southeast Asia that is safer in terms of crime than Thailand. But in terms of the danger of natural conditions, it is among the leaders. There you can meet both, and. But all these dangers pale in comparison to what lurks in the depths of the oceans – the Pacific and Indian, the waters of which wash the country’s shores. A tsunami in Thailand is considered one of the most likely natural disasters. They are rare, but even once is enough to make you shudder at the mention of them for the rest of your life. The feature film “The Impossible” about the tsunami in Thailand makes an indelible impression even on the most thick-skinned. The reality was even worse.
Origin of the tsunami
Tsunamis are waves generated by underwater earthquakes, volcanic eruptions or large explosions. At enormous speed, they disperse in concentric circles from the site of a natural disaster, and are practically invisible in open waters and great depths. However, when approaching shallow water, these waves begin to slow down and grow, supported by the mass of associated water. Their height can reach several tens of meters. A mountain of water crashes onto the shore and washes away everything in its path.
Are there tsunamis in Thailand? All the islands located east and south of the coast of this country - Japanese, Philippine, Sumatra, Java, Kalimantan, New Guinea and Solomon - are the western branch of the so-called Pacific Ring of Fire. These are volcanic faults with constant seismic activity, which is the root cause of tsunamis.
Several conditions are necessary for their formation. A place for acceleration and a sharp drop in depth towards decrease are required. They arise in places of so-called wave focusing - narrow bays along the axis of the front movement, or in the presence of islands of different sizes, which provoke the occurrence of wave resonance and become sources of secondary oscillations.
In Thailand, such conditions are more consistent with the western coast of the Malacca Peninsula (Andaman Sea). Therefore, a tsunami is most likely in Phuket. The Gulf of Thailand is wide and shallow over a long distance, which is why the seismic wave is dampened.
Why is a tsunami more dangerous than a storm?
Storm waves tens of meters high are not that uncommon on ocean coasts. And they are also capable of causing significant damage, but only in a limited area. Unlike tsunamis, the front of which can reach hundreds and thousands of kilometers - the further from the epicenter, the greater.
They also differ in energy saturation. A storm wave is generated by wind, which captures only the surface layers. Therefore, the mass of the raised water is less than that which is pushed forward by the tsunami coming from the bottom. In addition, the speed of wave propagation also differs. For storms, it does not exceed 100 km/h, and a seismic shock accelerates them to 1000 km/h. Therefore, tsunamis have hundreds of times more kinetic energy, which develops into potential energy when the movement slows down in shallow water and in front of obstacles.
Possessing greater energy, seismic waves are able to penetrate much further into the coast, and they can only be extinguished by objects of similar mass - mountains, hills. Everything else is swept away like trash from a table.
Hurricanes and storms are visible from space and are easy to warn about. A tsunami looks like a light ripple, it is almost invisible. Therefore, her blow is almost always unexpected.
How to escape a tsunami
In most cases, a tsunami is generated by an earthquake whose epicenter is below the ocean floor. Its strength is more than seven on the Richter scale. It feels good. If you are in a danger zone, you need to do the following:
- If you feel an earthquake, do not wait for a warning. Collect your things, documents, do not lose sight of your companions.
- Try to go as far from the coast as possible, and if this is not possible, then find a high place, preferably of natural origin - a hill, rock, mountain, and climb it.
- If you are unfamiliar with the area, follow the signs indicating escape routes.
- An unusually strong low tide - several hundred meters or even kilometers - is the main sign of an approaching seismic wave.
- The first tsunami wave is not the most powerful. The second and third are much more dangerous. Therefore, do not leave a safe place until the water recedes completely. This usually takes up to 10 hours.
2004 Thailand Tsunami
2004 Thailand Tsunami was a consequence of vertical seismic displacement of the plates of the subcontinents in the area of the so-called Java Trench - this is the western coast of the island of Sumatra. The wave front moved in a wide arc from Banda Aceh to Jakarta towards the island of Sri Lanka. The consequences of the cataclysm were the death of about 300 thousand people in 14 countries (the tsunami reached India and Madagascar) along the shores of the Indian Ocean. The largest number of dead tourists in Thailand occurred in , which took the blow of a wave reflected from the northwestern tip of the island of Sumatra near the city of Banda Aceh (it was completely wiped off the face of the Earth).
Causes of mass deaths from the 2004 tsunami in Thailand
During the tsunami in Thailand in 2004, 8 thousand 500 people died. The main reason for the tragedy was that the island authorities did not assess the danger of a tsunami in Phuket and did not take any measures, even if there was obvious signs impending disaster.
- The time interval between the subjectively felt tremors and the arrival of the wave was two hours - from eight to ten in the morning. There was no warning or evacuation of people.
- Nobody knew anything. Even the aborigines went to collect fish and other sea life after the water went several hundred meters from the shore. Tourists took selfies until the last moment. These were the first people killed in the tsunami in Thailand.
The film "The Impossible" about the tsunami in Thailand
The film “The Impossible” about the tsunami in Thailand was filmed 8 years later. The basis of the plot is the misadventures of a young family caught in the center of events. The director's drama turned out to be convincing. However, we believe that the artistic value of the painting is higher than its practical value. She cannot teach anything. The film did not reveal the cause of the mass death of people, and only the authorities are to blame for this. Having received a warning from the seismic data analysis center, they did not take any measures to evacuate the population, although there was enough time for this. Perhaps they hoped for “maybe” and were afraid to once again escalate the situation in the country.
The film “The Impossible” leaves a feeling of hopelessness and powerlessness of man before the wrath of Nature. After watching, you may get the impression that it is better to stay at home. No attention is paid to storylines that tell us that the tragedy could have been prevented, as well as how to act correctly in such situations.
Measures taken after the tragedy
The Thai authorities, albeit belatedly, took measures to prevent such tragedies in the future. Buoys have been installed in the Andaman Sea to record high-velocity water flows. All resorts and cities on the coast have a tsunami warning system, evacuation schemes and procedures for the authorities to ensure it have been developed. There are full houses everywhere
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A tsunami is a series of destructive and very dangerous waves resulting from seismic activity or other underwater similar events. Behind last years The tsunami caused an incredible amount of damage. To survive a tsunami, you must be prepared, alert and calm. This article outlines steps that, knowing and following, will help you survive a tsunami in the future.
Steps
Part 1
Advance preparation- Your home, school or place of work is located in a coastal area.
- Your home, school or place of work is located on a flat or slightly hilly area and the altitude is close to zero. If you don't know how high above sea level your home, school, and place of work are, find out. Some local authorities use altitude as a danger level.
- There are warning signs indicating that the area is susceptible to tsunamis.
- Local authorities have published information about a potential tsunami threat.
- Natural barriers to the sea, such as embankments and dunes, were leveled to allow for development of the area.
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Find out if your coastal region has been hit by tsunamis in the past. Visit the library or send a request to your local government office. FEMA (Federal Emergency Management Agency) has a website where you can learn about flood hazards online.
Gather essential supplies in an easily accessible place. If a tsunami (or other natural disaster) is approaching, you'll likely need a few survival items, and quickly. It is extremely useful to collect essentials and a survival kit in advance:
- Pack essentials. Food, water, and a first aid kit are the bare minimum. Leave the set in a visible, easily accessible place known to everyone in the household. In addition, it would not hurt to leave a raincoat or other raincoat for each person near the set of essentials.
- Build your personal survival kit for each family member, as well as a common set with shared items. Include necessary medications for each family member. Don't forget vital items for your pets.
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Develop an evacuation plan. To be of any use, an evacuation plan must be prepared in advance. When designing it, you should take into account your family, place of work, school and the wider community. If necessary, begin developing a mass evacuation plan if your county does not have one. Take the initiative to develop such a plan, and also involve local authorities and other residents. The absence of an evacuation plan and warning systems puts you, your family and your entire community at increased risk of injury and death during and after a tsunami. Some mandatory items that should be present in every evacuation plan:
Pay close attention to government warnings. If local authorities have taken the time to report a hazard, you should listen. Find out how they will warn the population about the danger so that you do not make a mistake and do not ignore the voiced warnings. Share this information with your family, friends, neighbors and others. If your local authority publishes leaflets, runs a website or uses another source of information, volunteer to distribute copies of the leaflets or request that the local authority do so.
Learn about potential hazards in advance. It is important to know in advance whether there is a risk of a tsunami where you live. You are probably in danger if:
Part 3
Evacuation in case of a tsunamiLeave all your belongings behind. In the event of a tsunami, save lives, not things. Trying to collect your belongings at the cost of precious time can interfere with your salvation. Grab your essentials, warm clothes, family and leave immediately. Tsunami survivors acted quickly and generally did not attempt to save property.
Move inland and rise to higher ground. The first thing you should do is move away from the coast, lagoons and other bodies of water towards higher ground, and even onto hills or mountains. Don't stop until you're 3.2 kilometers inland or 30 meters above sea level.
Climb high. If you are trapped and cannot escape from the shore, climb up. This, of course, is not the best solution, since the building may collapse, but if you have no other choice, choose a tall, strong, reliable building and climb onto it. Climb as high as you can, even onto the roof.
Climb a strong tree . As a last resort, if you are trapped and cannot go deep into the continent or climb a tall building, find a strong and tall tree and try to climb it as high as you can. There is a risk that a tsunami will knock down a tree, so only use this shelter if other options are not available. The more powerful the tree, the higher you can climb on it, the more comfortable you can rest on its branches (you can sit on a tree for many hours) and the more likely you will be to survive.
This day began as an ordinary one. And it ended, turning our idea of the meaning of life upside down. On April 11, 2012, we experienced a tsunami threat. Those seven hours that we waited for the giant wave forced us to draw the most important conclusion - we need to live here and now, not put anything off until tomorrow and enjoy life every minute.
On the morning of April 11, 2012, we decided to go to Krabi for shopping. Arinka fell asleep on her bike on the way home. Already in our house in Ao Nang she woke up and declared that she wanted to go to the sea. I needed to cook food and clean the house, so Sasha and Arinka went to the beach themselves.
Imagine my surprise when after fifteen minutes they returned. Passing Thais shouted to Sasha that he couldn’t go to the sea now, the police wouldn’t let him in, there were “big waves” there.
I immediately sat down at my laptop to read the news. Here's what I saw: “Powerful earthquakes occurred in the Indian Ocean off the West coast of the Indonesian island of Sumatra. The magnitude is estimated by Indonesian experts at 8.9 points. The earthquake allegedly caused a tsunami, which in the near future could hit the coast of Sumatra, and later reach the shores of dozens of other countries. Thai authorities announced an urgent evacuation of the population and tourists from six provinces of the country: Phuket, Krabi, Ranong, Phang Nga, Trang and Satun."
Before I could really tell Sasha about the news, I saw Thais running towards us - the owners of a neighboring hotel. They told us to urgently run to them in the tallest (four-story!) building. Fortunately, it was not far to escape. Sasha ordered me to urgently pack my things, I threw everything into a huge backpack.
A minute later, a couple of elderly Germans came running from a nearby hotel. They said that we couldn’t be saved here, we had to go to the mountain. I tell Sasha, well, just ask where the mountain is, if anything happens then we’ll go. And the German woman told me very, very calmly and seriously: “We survived the tsunami in 2004, believe me, we need to leave here.”
And then I grabbed what was at hand: a sarong, a laptop, documents, Arinka’s corn - and we went. Sasha and I were in T-shirts and shorts, Arinka managed to put on a T-shirt with sleeves and pants. Only Sasha is wearing a helmet, we couldn’t find ours in a hurry...
We were driving along some highway, and suddenly it started to hail, the size of a pea. And this is at a speed of 45-50 km! Quite painful. I covered Arinka with a sarong. After the hail, it began to rain like buckets. And we are driving along the highway, the Germans are rushing without stopping. I started taking raincoats out of my bag with one hand. This is not easy, since you still have to hold on to the bike so as not to fall out on the road. After unsuccessful attempts put on raincoats while walking, I asked Sasha to stop. Of course, we risked losing sight of the Germans and never finding this saving mountain, but then it seemed to me the most reasonable thing to shelter Arina from the rain.
I will never forget this. The Germans came back for us. They waited patiently for us to put on our raincoats so we could continue on our way.
We walked the last hundred meters up the mountain. When we climbed to the top, we saw a lot of people in the local cafe. Tourists, Thais, children, women, men... Somehow they found a free chair and sat Arinka down. The sarong and raincoat did their job and my daughter was practically dry. We asked the waiters if they had hot food. Arina was brought rice with chicken. I opened my bag and realized that I didn’t take anything that could be useful now. We had no warm clothes, medicine or food. There was only a stupid laptop, documents and... boiled corn.
We sat in the cafe for about four hours. Arinka whimpered from fatigue and calmed down a little only at my chest. Sasha corresponded by phone with his mother and brother, who were monitoring the news in Moscow. There was no other source of information on this mountain. By the way, there was no light either; we sat by candlelight.
First, Anna Yurievna (Sasha’s mother) called and said that in Phuket (which is 1.5 hours away from us by car) the sea had already receded, this happens with a tsunami - a strong ebb, and then the wave returns with hellish speed and force.
The German woman began to talk about the 2004 tsunami in Phuket. It was terrible. The woman saw the wave with her own eyes. She stopped 50 meters away. The hotel where I lived with my husband was the first untouched giant rampart. Before the eyes of our new friend, people, many children, were washed into the sea... She then spent a year being treated by a psychiatrist, trying to get rid of the shock. In 2004, the tsunami killed 100 thousand people in many Asian countries. And eight years ago, the wave also came after the earthquake from Sumatra. From Indonesia to Krabi is only 1.5-2 thousand kilometers.
At half past nine, Sasha’s mother called and said that the threat of a tsunami had passed. Scientists calculated that the earthquake was not vertical, but horizontal, so there was no big wave.
We went home. Our Russian neighbor Nastya came to us with her 1.5 year old daughter Fiona, and we chatted until eleven at night. Then her friend arrived from Phuket, who was still supposed to fly home to Moscow during the day. She said that the airport was closed, and many people were left there just in the field in the rain.
This day was difficult. We survived the evacuation and the long wait in the unknown. After all, even when you know that you are safe now, you still have no idea what will happen to you next. Will there be warm clothes to keep you warm after a piercing downpour, will there be food to feed the child the next time you can sleep on the bed under a warm blanket.
After the tsunami, friends wrote to us a lot and worried about us. Some even reproached us for leaving for such an unsafe region. And then there were explosions in Dnepropetrovsk, bombs exploded there in broad daylight, many people were injured. And everything fell into place. You can go to the ends of the earth and die there from a tsunami, or you can simply find yourself in the wrong place at the wrong time in your hometown and “safe” city...
Those 7 hours on April 11, 2012 made me stronger. I learned to cope with panic for the sake of myself and my loved ones. I don’t know what will happen if history repeats itself, but in my head I clearly have a list of things that must be taken with me when evacuating. Warm clothes, documents, food, water...
For many, the danger of a tsunami is some kind of exotic danger. However, the changes in nature in recent years are such that surprises can be expected. Even in a small lake, under certain circumstances, a large wave can arise. Of course, the appearance of large waves - a tsunami in the sea and ocean - is much more likely. A very small proportion of the Russian population lives near the sea; the vast majority are not threatened by a tsunami. But if you went on vacation to the open sea or ocean...
Where do tsunamis most often occur?
The largest number of earthquakes occurs on the Pacific coasts. Accordingly, tsunamis most often occur in the Pacific Ocean. In our country, the Far Eastern coasts are subject to tsunami attacks: Kamchatka, the Kuril and Commander Islands and partly Sakhalin. Tsunamis also occur in the Indian Ocean. The greatest risk of disaster occurs in coastal areas with increased seismic activity. In 2011, a very strong tsunami occurred in Japan, killing a large number of people, a huge territory was washed away and it was the tsunami that provoked the accident at the Fukushima-1 nuclear power plant
Quite often there is a threat of tsunami in the Philippines, Indonesia, and other island countries of the Pacific Ocean.
When going on vacation to such places, theoretical knowledge on how to behave and what to do during, before and after a tsunami will not be superfluous.
Causes of tsunamis
The cause of a tsunami is an underwater earthquake. Powerful tremors create the directed movement of huge masses of water, which roll onto the shore with waves over 10 meters high. Thousands of tons of water are falling onto the coast at tremendous speed. No residential building can withstand such a load. Houses in the path of the waves are completely washed away. There is no chance of surviving at the epicenter. The further the wave goes to the ground, the more its strength decreases, but the danger is no less, since the wave turns into a mixture of building materials, stones, fragments of fittings, cars, trees, which crush and destroy all living things in its path. But the danger does not end there. When the wave passes, these thousands of tons of water with a huge amount of floating debris will begin to return to the ocean. Pulling everything you can behind you. People caught in such a current can be washed out into the open ocean.
Tsunami alert, how to find out about a tsunami
The first reason to think about the threat of a tsunami is the announcement of increased seismic activity in the coastal area. If seismologists were able to predict tremors in advance, residents of settlements on the coast should ensure their own safety in the event of a tsunami. Such warnings are relevant even if the strength of the earthquake in the city itself is small, because a tsunami occurs when the epicenter of the earthquake is under water.
How can residents and tourists know about an impending tsunami?
Watch reports and warnings about seismic activity in the region in advance!
Today, in all settlements where there is a possibility of a tsunami, there are special services to alert the population about the danger. But there's a catch. Earthquakes happen very often, but only a few ever reach a tsunami. Therefore, it is not always possible to determine it in time. how powerful the earthquake will be and whether it will lead to a tsunami. And one more thing, if the epicenter of a tsunami is hundreds of kilometers from the coast, then after the warning, residents will have time to react and evacuate from the dangerous area. But if the epicenter is near the coast, then even if there is a warning, there may not be enough time to evacuate. This is exactly what happened in Japan on the island of Okushiri during the earthquake off Hokkaido in 1993. Then the tsunami killed 230 people.
In times of increased tsunami threat, you should carefully monitor government messages on radio, television, the Internet and SMS notifications. In most cases, the danger becomes known within a few hours, giving residents the opportunity to react. Animals are sensitive to the approach of a giant wave. Long before the onset of a tsunami, they show concern. Many wild animals and birds tend to leave the danger area in advance.
The approach of a tsunami in the next 15-20 minutes can be judged by signs such as the rapid retreat of water along the coastline and a sharp attenuation of the sound of the surf. In a number of cases, drift of unusual objects is also observed: fragments of ice or coastal debris raised from the bottom by water currents. The immediate approach of the wave is accompanied by thunderous sounds and a roar.
What to do in case of a tsunami
How to protect yourself and be safe in case of a tsunami?
In places where there is a high probability of a tsunami, it would be a good idea to think through your actions in advance. These points should be discussed with the family, agree on a meeting place in case the coast is under threat and mobile communications are
inaccessible. In addition, it is important to calmly plan a retreat route taking into account the terrain, avoiding bottlenecks, bays, rivers, areas of potential congestion of traffic and crowds of people. All the most valuable things that will be needed during evacuation should be at hand and ready at any time. First of all, documents, a minimum of clothing and a two-day supply of food that does not spoil must always be kept in a specially designated place. You also need a supply of water, a first aid kit, possibly some signaling equipment (a flare gun, a hunter's signal), a knife, a rope (paracord), a flashlight, and matches in a sealed package. All this can be put into a small backpack in case of a quick evacuation.
It is important for residents of coastal areas to take an active part in public events on which protection from tsunamis in the area depends - the construction of dams, forest shelterbelts, and breakwaters.
How to survive a tsunami
In the event of an alert about an approaching tsunami, you should urgently leave the coastal area, moving perpendicular to the coastal
lines. Relative safety is ensured by an elevation of 30-40 meters above sea level or a distance of 2-3 kilometers from the coast. This withdrawal provides significant risk reduction, even if the area is threatened by a large tsunami. But to protect yourself 100%, it is better to move even further or higher.
When retreating from the danger zone, you must avoid the beds of rivers, streams, and ravines. These places will be the first to be flooded.
Tsunamis in lakes or reservoirs are less dangerous, but even then, caution should be exercised. A safe elevation is considered to be 5 meters above the water level. Tall buildings are quite suitable for this purpose.
In the event of a large tsunami on the sea or ocean, many buildings simply cannot withstand the pressure of the wave of water and will collapse. However, if the situation leaves no choice, then high capital buildings are the only chance to survive. In them it is worth going up to the highest floors, closing the windows and doors. How
The rules of conduct during earthquakes suggest that the safest areas in a building are areas near columns, load-bearing walls, and in corners.
A tsunami is usually a series of several waves and in most cases the first wave is not the strongest. You need to remember this and not let your guard down.
If a wave overtakes a person, it is very important to hold on to a tree, pole, building, and avoid colliding with large debris. As soon as the opportunity arises, you need to find shelter in case of repeated waves.
Photo: beached ship during a tsunami
How to behave after a tsunami
The main danger of a tsunami is repeated waves, each of which can be stronger than the previous one. You should return back only after the official cancellation of the alarm or no earlier than 2 hours after the end strong excitement on the sea. The break between large waves can reach 40-60 minutes.
Returning home after a tsunami, as after other natural disasters, you should carefully inspect the building for stability, gas leaks, and damage to electrical wiring. A separate danger may be flooding after a tsunami.
Before going on a trip, it is very important to find out in advance everything about the safety of the place where you plan to vacation or live for some time.
Despite the fact that Thailand is one of the safest countries in Southeast Asia in terms of crime, we must remember that this country is located between two huge oceans. One of the biggest and most uncontrollable dangers that plague many of Thailand's tourist areas is tsunamis.
For informational purposes (in no case with the purpose of scaring), I would like to talk about the terrible event that occurred in Thailand and in many countries of the Indian Ocean on December 26, 2004. The tsunami, which originated as a result of an earthquake at the bottom of the Indian Ocean near Indonesia, and which covered Thailand and 14 other countries, killing 225 to 300 thousand people, citizens of 60 countries. This natural disaster is the 6th largest in the history of mankind. The most terrible consequences were in Indonesia, Sri Lanka, India, and in Thailand the largest number of foreigners died, especially in Phuket.
Let's hope that this story will never repeat itself, but don't forget - forewarned is forearmed. Many casualties could have been avoided if the people at the epicenter of the events knew at least something about the tsunami.
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Where do tsunamis come from?
Tsunamis are long waves, most often formed due to underwater earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, landslides, and less often due to any underwater explosions (nuclear tests, meteorites, etc.). Tsunamis do not pose a threat to shipping in deep ocean areas. Despite the fact that waves move at speeds of up to 1000 km/h, their height in the open ocean usually does not exceed 50 centimeters or 1 meter. Reaching shallow water, the tsunami loses speed and increases its height to 20-40 meters. This is the reason why tsunamis cannot always be seen in advance. Even satellite tracking systems cannot always identify danger in advance. In some cases, a tsunami can occur even without a clearly defined wave, like a series of rapid ebbs and flows. The danger primarily comes not from the wave itself, but from the incredibly large, wide and powerful stream of water that hits the shore with force.
Why are 30-meter storm waves safer than a 5-meter tsunami?
Sometimes on ocean coasts, storm waves can reach impressive sizes, but this never leads to the same large-scale flooding and damage as a tsunami. This is due to several factors:
— Unlike a storm, when the upper layers of the ocean break on the shore, a tsunami “attacks” the land with the entire thickness of the water, so the kinetic energy of a tsunami is thousands of times higher than the energy splashing onto the shore during a powerful storm.
— The width of a tsunami wave is thousands of kilometers, and it hits the entire coast, while storm waves are rarely longer than 50-100 meters. On the map at the beginning of the article you can see how the tsunami spreads radially (in circles) with its epicenter on the seabed near the Indonesian island of Sumatra.
— Storms are almost never sudden, and only the most modern ocean tracking systems can predict a tsunami. But not all potentially dangerous coasts are equipped with such expensive systems.
“Due to their strength, tsunamis penetrate much deeper into the continent, destroying infrastructure unprepared for such a disaster and also provoking man-made disasters, which only aggravate the scale of the disaster.
How to escape during a tsunami
In 85% of cases, a tsunami is preceded by a powerful underwater earthquake with a magnitude of more than 7.0 on the Richter scale. However, the source may be too far from the tsunami zone, in which case no earthquake will be felt on the coast. In the event of tremors in potentially tsunami zones, the following measures must be urgently taken:
— Without waiting for warnings (there may not be any), collect documents, valuables and relatives and leave the danger zone, warning the maximum possible number of people about the danger.
— Climb to higher ground as quickly as possible or move away from the ocean.
— Many potentially hazardous areas have special signs, showing the shortest escape route.
- Remember that a strong and sudden low tide is an obvious sign of an impending tsunami. Before the decisive blow, the tsunami takes over all the coastal water. Before the big tsunami most of victims, who know almost nothing about this natural phenomenon, remain on the shore, collect fish that did not have time to leave with the sharp ebb of the tide, or simply admire the unprecedented spectacle. It is extremely reckless to do this!
— With a tsunami, several waves are possible, and the first wave will not necessarily be the most powerful. If one wave has already hit the shore, you must continue to stay in a safe place for the next few hours.
Tsunami film "Lo imposible"
Then I watched a film based on the real events of that very day (December 26, 2004), and decided that I definitely needed to write about this tsunami. Why? Because the film turned out to be a good drama about the fate of a specific family, but the authors did not reveal the main thing. And the main thing, I think, in this story is not whether one particular family was able to escape, but why the 2004 tsunami provoked such a number of victims. And here's why it happened:
— The inaction of the Thai authorities, who knew that at 8 am there was an earthquake in the Indian Ocean off the coast of Sumatra, which slightly rocked the Thai resort of Phuket. The tsunami hit that same Phuket, as well as neighboring provinces at about 10 am. That is, there were 2 hours to evacuate people, but no one did anything. This is a complete failure!
— Lack of awareness among the local population and, especially, tourists about how to behave during a tsunami. Nobody really knew anything - where to run, what to do... In principle, there were no warning systems as such! And this despite the fact that the western coast of Thailand, and especially the tourist area of Phuket (one of the most popular resorts in Thailand) are located in a very dangerous ocean zone, where a large number of earthquakes occur. In general - again a failure of the authorities.
In their justification, we can say that tsunamis in the Indian Ocean are extremely rare - the previous tsunami took place after the eruption of the Krakatoa volcano back in 1883! That is, it was the unexpectedness of the tsunami in a number of countries in the Indian Ocean that caused such large-scale consequences - destruction and death of a huge number of people.
Perhaps this is precisely the emphasis that is missing in the film. In my opinion, it was necessary to show that much could have been prevented. Urge people to be careful in the future. This doesn't mean staying home and not traveling - it means being forewarned and knowing what to do in an emergency. And although this will not save everyone in the event of such a development of events, it will help many. People need to know what to do in a critical situation during a tsunami.
The very story of the film is that a family with three sons finds itself at the epicenter of a tsunami. Each of them is trying to escape, help each other and find other relatives. Unlike all sorts of far-fetched disaster films (hello, “2012” and “The Day After Tomorrow”), “The Impossible” does not have super special effects and an incredibly large budget. The emphasis is on the storyline, the acting and their inimitable emotions. In general, it’s a really worthy drama, in my opinion, but I’ve already written about the shortcomings above.
Tsunami in Phuket - still from the movie “Lo Imposible” 
Phuket tsunami 2004 (stills from the film “The Impossible”) In this article, I deliberately do not use photographs from various sources illustrating authentic footage of real destruction. I wouldn't want the article to be negative. On the contrary, the purpose of the recording is to tell people what happened and why it happened; to honor the memory of innocent victims; try to figure out how to avoid such losses in the future if the tsunami happens again...
After the 2004 disaster, Thai authorities announced the creation of a special tsunami tracking system. For this purpose, special buoys were placed in the ocean, which respond to the rapid movement of water masses. Exactly the same systems operate successfully off the coast of Japan and Hawaii. Also, the coastlines of the Andaman Sea in Thailand were equipped with warning signs in Thai and English languages: “Possible tsunami zone. In the event of an earthquake, move to higher ground or evacuate inland.”
Warning sign about a possible tsunami near Ao Nang (they found the “cleanest one”))) By the way, if you are going to Thailand, and you are very scared of this potential danger tsunami, then you can choose safe resorts located in the Gulf of Thailand (South China Sea of the Pacific Ocean). The eastern shores of Thailand, namely resorts such as Koh Chang, Pattaya, Hua Hin, Samui, Phangan, Koh Tao, are reliably protected from tsunamis by neighboring islands, peninsulas and continents. The threat of a tsunami in Thailand is only in Western resorts located on the coast of the Andaman Sea. The most “dangerous” in terms of the likelihood of a tsunami are the provinces of Phang Nga, Phuket and Krabi.
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- AirBNB - use this link to get a discount on your first booking!
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