An observation of the Tsunami that hit Phuket Island in Thailand
by: Chitr Lilaviva
The source of the Tsunami was the earthquake with a magnitude of 9.0 on the Richter
scale on Sunday December 26th 2004 off the west coast of Northern Sumatra at 7:58:53 am.
local time in the location 3.316 degree N. 95.854 degree E., 1260 km. to the south southwest
of Bangkok.
On Sunday morning no one in Bangkok nor in Phuket knew that an earthquake had
occurred, except that a few high rises felt a mild tremor. By around 8.30 or 9.00 am, there
was a news flash on the radio about the earthquake with the rest of the common news, and
there was no further warning or mention of a tsunami.
In an interview with a survivor at Ocean Plaza Department Store on the Partong
Beach in Phuket, the man related that he saw the sea water retreat suddenly from the beach at
around 9.15 am for a distance as far as 300-400 metres from the shore line. While the water
retreated, some children and tourists on the beach went out in the shore to collect and catch
the fish jumping about. The survivor also went down to the beach with curiosity. About 810 minutes later the wave came in with considerable speed about 2 metres high and the
people on the beach then ran for their lives. The survivor apparently is a good swimmer, he
floated and clenched onto the treetop of a coconut tree to survive. In a picture from a
magazine it can be seen that the incoming waves’ height were under the top of the umbrellas
on the beach.
The most effected area is along the beaches on the west side of the island facing the
Adaman Sea where the waves were coming into shore. The beach structures, mainly
constructed with bamboo and timber with lightweight roofs of steel sheet and thatches, were
wiped out as the waves advanced into the terrain continuing on to the higher ground. The
wave brought with it pebbles, sand, mud, broken debris, tree trunks and other unsecured
objects such as boats, heavy steel tanks, motor cars, motor cycles and other rubble which was
flushed through the narrow lanes of streets destroying the ground floors of buildings as the
waves passed through. A number of poorly constructed single storey buildings were caved
in and washed away. The majority of shop fronts on the ground floor were wiped out. The
hotels and the guesthouses suffered heavy damage on their ground floors. Hotels and
department stores on the sea front suffered heavily at their ground floors and basements
where many dead victims were found after the waves subsided.
In the northern part of the Island Khao Lak, some 100 km. from Phuket city, the
waves had wiped out the all beach structures in the sea front and the waves crossed the main
street, which is parallel to the sea shore 500-600 metres from the shore, to hit the shop houses
3-storeys high. These shop houses experienced damage to their ground floors as the steel
shutting doors were crumbled, aluminum frame windows and doors were torn off, and some
brick wall partitioning were felled if they obstructed the water flow. The second and third
floors of the shop houses were found without damage. In the naval base at Khao Lak a
medium sized gun boat was found grounded on shore, while a frigate about 200 metres long
named HTMS Lin suffered no damage, but sadly three crew members were missing. The
frigate was turned three times as its mooring position changed by the waves before an officer
threw the anchor into mid-bay and stopped it. The electrical installation in the base was
wiped out and all the generators were ruined.
Life in Phuket is surprisingly normal though it is saddened by the deaths. The death
toll has reached more than five thousand with a great number of people still missing.
The tragedy teaches the historical lesson that earthquakes are a natural phenomena
that all human beings have to face. Many people do not know that our earth is spinning about
its axis once every in 24 hours, and the speed of spinning is equivalent to a linear speed of
more than 1670 km. per hour which is twice as fast as the speed of the 747 jumbo jet. The
earth orbits around the sun that creates four seasons, and in turn there will be erosion and
deposition on the surface of the earth. As the spinning earth adjusts its equilibrium in space,
from time to time there will be an earthquake between the tectonic plates. No one knows
precisely when the earthquake will occur. If people learn about earthquakes as natural
phenomena however, catastrophes could be greatly reduced. In Phuket many people could
save their lives by staying on high ground, or the second floor of buildings when a tsunami
strikes if there is some short warning. On the other hand when earthquake occurs on land,
people should run out of the buildings and stay in the open. In the later case no warning can
be made. Earthquake phenomena should be taught in primary school, so that the loss of life
in future catastrophes may be reduced.