Asian Disaster

B

BBS

Active Member
You will have all heard about the tidal wave which destroyed many parts of South Asia and while it is terrible, I know it seems a long way away.

For me, it is a little more personal. My Mum was in a guesthouse on the beach at Phuket when the wave hit. The ground floor of the place was destroyed, whilst my Mum and her friend barely escaped with the clothes on their back - narrowly avoiding being killed by a jeep that was thrown into the room through their first floor balcony.

I picked my Mum up from Heathrow last night and one thing which shone out from the horrific things she saw was the kindness and generosity the Thai people showed her at a time when by rights a western tourist should have been the last thing on their mind.

People who had little to start with and nothing by the time the wave hit, guided my Mum to safety, shared what shelter, food and clothing they had and generally showed a level of kindness that was extraordinary in the circumstances.

If we could all give a little to the relief fund, it would go a long way to help people who lives have been totally and utterly destroyed.

Ben
 
That's terrible Ben, we've watched nothing else on TV since it happened and it is truly truly awful what these poor people are going thru :cry: Am really glad that your mum is ok, it must have been really worrying for you at the time. Have already given to relief fund but will def be giving some more.
 
This is one of the saddest things i've ever seen. Dont really know what else can be said.

Ben your mum was really lucky and thats a touching story.

For people who do want to donate the number is 0870 60 60 900.
 
Christ Ben, didn't know that. Very pleased that your Mum is ok, while obviously saddened for those who died/lost everyone and/or everything they had.

Agree entirely we should all give what we can.
 
Oh Ben, that's awful but, as so often in these terrible events, the goodness of the human spirit comes to the fore. Glad mum is ok.

I'm gonna give a fair whack of my xmas gift cash this pm. These are desparate times for so many people.
 
Thanks for your kind words everyone. My Mum had been out there for a couple of months and all the people she'd got to know who worked in the shops, the kids selling stuff on the beach, the guys in the long boats , were all swept away.

Apparently, the water was first sucked away from the beach and people congregated to look at it and take photos, when all of a sudden a wall of water just appeared on the horizon moving at an astonishing speed.

My Mum said that literally one minute she was getting ready for breakfast and the next thing they were fighting for their lives.

I think a lot of western backbackers are yet to be found because many were sleeping on the beach, recovering from hangovers, when the wave hit at 10am local time.
 
Ben,

That's awfull, but at least your mum is at home with you.

My brother is still waiting news from a very close friend, backpaker travelling around Asia, who was working at the moment in a diving center down there :( :(
 
Ben, I'm glad you Mother is fine. Her story of the kindness of the local people is by no means unusal though. I just watched on the news a Western guy saying that an old lady that owned a restaurant where he was eating had just watched everything she owned be completely destroyed and yet she took all of the money out of her pockets and tried to make him take it so he would have enough cash to get a flight home. I'm completely stunned.
 
Sitting here reading this, I can't begin to imagine the fear people must have suffered.

Ben, I'm so glad your Mum is home and safe now .. she must still be having nightmares.

ANYONE WITH MISSING FRIENDS IN PHUKET, HERE'S A LINK TO THEIR HOSPITAL...

www.phuket-inter-hospital.co.th/vstoday_Forien.htm

the mobile's are down/chocker at the mo so it may well take some time for people to let you know they're ok.It's f***ing chaos out there...on the bright side,I was supposed to be in sri lanka over xmas/new year til it went titsup 4 weeks ago...blimey...EDIT//kindly don't hit that link out of curiosity,the server keeps falling over.Only check it if you need to.It's a list of people in the hospital that they've identified and are still alive.Please don't hit it unless you have missing friends/relatives in that area.People concerned for the welfare of friends and relatives can call the emergency rescue centre at (076) 214492 or (01) 643 2755. From outside Thailand, call (international access code) 66 76 214492 or (international access code) 66 1 643 2755. Local police stations may also be able to help. Call 191 and ask for the district police station in the area concerned. If calling from outside Thailand, the number for the Phuket Provincial Police headquarters is (international access code) 66 76 212046. The Phuket Tourist Police can be reached at (international access code) 66 76 355015. The numbers for Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ 24hour coordi¬nating centre for foreign nationals affected by tidal waves are 66 (0) 2 643 5262 and 66 (0) 2 643 5000 ext. 5003 and 5502.Bear in mind their phone system is pretty well f***ed so will take time for people to contact you...

another link (this one is of victims they've ID'd)that's being updated fairly often...again,only use it if you need to,ok? Many thanks...

www.disaster.go.th/news01/12_47/aftershock.htm

another useful link here,for those with missing people in all the other areas affected -good links from it to all sorts of info.It's mirrored all over so feel free to hit it...

tsunamihelp.blogspot.com/
 
Just basically echoing what everyone else has said. It's really horrific.

BBS, when you say it was a wall of water, was it just one wave, or was it a gradual increase?? It's just so hard to imaging what it mustve felt like.
 
Glad your Mum is OK.
It's so devestating, really awful. Do you know if money can be pledged to help out? I know the goverment has given 15 mil but that wont be enough.
 
KarlosHx said:
This is one of the saddest things i've ever seen. Dont really know what else can be said.

Ben your mum was really lucky and thats a touching story.

For people who do want to donate the number is 0870 60 60 900.
Click to expand...

Just spotted your post. will def be pledging some cash. x
 
I cant believe it! They have found 80,000 ppl :( who passed away so far.

Its heart wrenching to know that ppl r there who my family knows and we havent heard from them yet. They left christmas eve :/
 
:(

how utterly tragic is all this.

glad your mum is ok BBS.

i havent watched sky news and fox news this much since 9/11.

re: donations, sad truth is i can't at the moment, but definately will be when i get paid next week!

if anymore of you have missing friends/rels i hope you have good news sometime soon ;)
 
It's pretty hard to comprehend how big this disaster is, and how many people all around the globe it affects, but stories like the one you relate BBS really bring it home. I'm glad your mum's ok, and my heart goes out to anyone who's suffered. Money seems such an inadequate way of helping those who've lost everything, but every little helps.
 
sorry to hear about your mum bbs but good to hear she was one of the lucky ones.

This was such shoking, sad news, and the death toll now is phenomanol (sp?), and its set to rise still due to diseases etc.

I shall be donating
 
As of my telephone conversation with Ben (BBS) just now, all profits from So... 's 1st birthday will go to the relief appeal. So... please get you arses down there.

Not sure if we can official backing quick enough, but I will scan and upload the reciept for payment to the charity after the event.
 
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