Comments

NickHope wrote on 12/27/2004, 2:55 PM
Hi DVDeviations,

I am fine thanks. My apartment is on a hill overlooking Patong, about 1km from the sea and I was lucky to be safely at home when the tsunami struck. I didn't know much about it from here. We got a phone call about it but things just looked normal and peaceful after the event except for the sea being pale brown instead of blue and some unusual pooling of water in an area that's normally dry around 500m from the beach. Then the chain of people started fleeing up the hillside next to us to get away from the sea. I watched events unfold on TV the same as the rest of you.

My Thai girlfriend's brother was out on his longtail boat, somehow managed to get out past the waves, and then stayed out all day and night (out of contact) because he was so scared to come nearer to the beach. He finally got back in 24 hours after the tsunami. Thank god he's back and OK now. I actually don't personally know anyone who was killed or even injured, but I've heard a lot of lucky escape stories.

I ventured down towards the beach last night. The front 200-400m of the town has been badly hit. Shops and hotels gutted, cars and rubble piled up everywhere, and no power. People were making the best of things though and the bars and restaurants as close as 400m to the sea were all open as normal. However I think after the current crop of tourists has left, Patong is going to be very quiet.

Apart from the tragic loss of life it's a terrible blow to this area because peak season is Christmas to April and it's just not going to happen this year. A lot of people are going to suffer as a result. The TV coverage does not help because they give you the exaggerrated impression that the island has been totally flattened, so now the cancellations are coming in.

Well, life goes on for me and I have a video to encode. Thanks for thinking of me!
PierreB wrote on 12/27/2004, 5:53 PM
Glad to hear you're OK.

Pierre
Peeks wrote on 12/27/2004, 11:17 PM
I'm glad as well that you are okay!Ü

All the best to yourself and Phuket, as well as to the other neighboring countries.

Cheers to the New Year!
farss wrote on 12/28/2004, 5:55 AM
I don't know how much coverage this disaster is getting in the US, we've lost a few nationals as have many other countries, the loss amongst the local populations is staggering and will rise even higher without some heroic efforts from all the developed nations.
Tonight I go to a dry bed, with food in my belly and clean water to drink realising how lucky I am, reminded again how untterly trivial the problems that I'll have to wrestle with tomorrow are.
Bob.
Liam_Vegas wrote on 12/28/2004, 6:13 AM
TV coverage in the USA is non-stop on all the major news networks. A true tragedy. I'm sure I am not the only one who got online the moment I begun to understand the scale and donated to the Red Cross relief effort.
Arks wrote on 12/28/2004, 6:43 AM
estimated at 40,000 dead and counting.... yes, I would say this is a major disaster and I hope it doesnt get worse as they are predicting from US news (but you cant trust news here as much as you used to) as far as disease and looting.