tsunami-photos

2005-01-21T11:56:00.000-08:00

pic 30 Emie in the pool at kata villa beach hotel

2005-01-21T11:55:00.000-08:00

pic 29 our little tree & some presents

2005-01-21T11:54:00.000-08:00

pic 28 xmas morning in phuket

2005-01-21T11:53:00.000-08:00

pic 27 another sunset

2005-01-21T11:52:00.000-08:00

pic 26 happy times

2005-01-21T11:50:00.000-08:00

pic 25 sunset

2005-01-21T11:49:00.000-08:00

pic 24 similan island no 8 - the most beautiful place with the whitest sand I have ever been

2005-01-21T11:47:00.000-08:00

pic 23 dinner time on the boat

2005-01-21T11:44:00.000-08:00

pic 21 island no 8

2005-01-21T11:43:00.000-08:00

pic 21 swing at island no 8 similans

2005-01-21T11:40:00.000-08:00

pic 20 dinner times would always cost an extra baht giving the flower sellers some money

2005-01-21T11:34:00.000-08:00

pic 19 our pool at night - with just us in it

2005-01-21T11:32:00.000-08:00

pic 18 more fish

2005-01-21T11:27:00.000-08:00

pic 17 fish & lots of them

2005-01-21T11:25:00.000-08:00

pic 16 Emie being brave

2005-01-21T11:24:00.000-08:00

pic 15 noisy elephant

2005-01-21T11:22:00.000-08:00

pic 14 elephants

2005-01-21T11:13:00.000-08:00

pic 12 tiger cub being a bit too playful for Emies liking in Phuket zoo

2005-01-21T11:10:00.000-08:00

pic 11 feeding the tiger cub in Phuket zoo

2005-01-21T11:08:00.000-08:00

pic 10 feeding the tiger cub in Phuket zoo

2005-01-21T11:06:00.000-08:00

pic 09 cheesy grins

2005-01-21T11:05:00.000-08:00

pic 08 getting pished in Patong

2005-01-21T11:03:00.000-08:00

pic 07 Racha Island - innundated with day trippers & snorkel/dive boats

2005-01-21T11:01:00.000-08:00

pic 06 on the boat to Racha island

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pic 05 on the boat trip to Racha Island

2005-01-21T10:59:00.000-08:00

pic 04 emie's favourite spot

2005-01-21T10:58:00.000-08:00

pic 03 cocktails in the dinopark

2005-01-21T10:55:00.000-08:00

pic 02 cocktails in the dinopark

2005-01-21T10:53:00.000-08:00

pic 01 cocktails in the dinopark

2005-01-01T05:30:00.000-08:00

Pic 6 looking up the street outside the Katathani hotel, this is still the first wave coming in. we made it to this grassy bank where there was a fountain which we all scrambled onto

2005-01-01T05:21:00.001-08:00

Pic2 As the first wave came in

2005-01-01T05:21:00.000-08:00

Pic 3 As the wave came in, people just stood & stared in disbelief

2005-01-01T05:18:00.000-08:00

Pic 4 people running as the wave comes in higher & begins to spill in to the pool

2005-01-01T05:17:00.000-08:00

Pic 5 As the water was coming in with the first wave. Just above the sign in the middle of the picture you can see water spraying up out of the drains. Luckily the first wave of water came no higher than this enabling many people to get to safety (including us). The large white tuk-tuk on the left of the picture managed to be used as an ambulance when the water receeded after the first wave & a very badly injured child was rushed to hospital. I have no update on this child, he was about 8 or 9 years old & I think German. I wonder about him at least 20 times a day.

2005-01-01T05:15:00.001-08:00

Pic 7 looking towards the lobby of the Katathani hotel as the second wave came in higher than the first, we eventually made it across this road when the water receeded

2005-01-01T05:15:00.000-08:00

Pic 8 As the water receeded, we waded through this 'river' & took shelter at the hotel. You can see the fountain on the grassy bank we had all stood on just moments before. As the next wave came in this was completly submerged

2005-01-01T05:12:00.000-08:00

Pic 9 The water receeding after the third wave had hit, I was too panic stricken to take photos as the waves were coming in and was to busy running up the stairs to the top floor. The water had chased us up the stairs to the first floor & by the time this photo was taken the water level had dropped by about 1.5 metres. It shows the ground floor of the hotel, the very tops of the hedges at each side of the road & the carpark - there are cars in there, you just cant see them, they are still under water

2005-01-01T05:11:00.000-08:00

Pic 11 Looking towards the beachfront from the top floor of the Katathani hotel

2005-01-01T05:09:00.000-08:00

Pic 12 As I took this picture the black jeep and all the debris behind it was being swept down the road by the receeding water

2005-01-01T05:07:00.000-08:00

Pic 13 another pic looking towards the beachfront, I dont think I could quite comprehend how the cars had been picked up off the road & been 'water parked' into the bushes & trees

2005-01-01T05:05:00.000-08:00

Pic 13 another pic looking towards the beachfront, I dont think I could quite comprehend how the cars had been picked up off the road & been 'water parked' into the bushes & trees

2005-01-01T05:02:00.000-08:00

Pic 14 A pic of some shops as we were walking back from Kata Noi. These are just before you reach Kata Centre & are not on the beach front but on the road behind 'Club Med Hotel'. I can only presume 'Club Med' sustained considerable damage, as the water that damaged these shops has had to pass through 'Club Med' grounds to get here.

2005-01-01T05:01:00.000-08:00

Pic 15 This is our hotel. It is the 'Kata Villa Beachfront Hotel' the latest addition to the 'Copenhagen in Phuket' chain that owns the 'Kata Centre Inn'. As you can see the ground floor was demolished, nearly all the groundfloor bedrooms had had their windows smashed & door ripped off by the waves & the water had 'parked' a jeep up the stairs, blocking access to the top floor. Luckily for us our room was on the top floor so we did not loose any of our belongings, passports etc. However, we had handed in our room key to reception. This had used to be in the room under the stairs & all that was left was some rubble. I managed to get a spade & we began to search through the rubble & sand looking for our buried key. My daughter put her bag down next to the stairs and began to dig through the rubble with her bare hands. It was while we were doing this, I noticed a lot of western tourists were coming up & taking photographs of us. No one offered to help - this quite disgusted me but no where near as much as when we realised that one of them had stolen my daughters bag. It did not contain much, but it was a xmas present along with her new watch & CD player that I'd given her for xmas & some CD's. This was the last straw for my daughter. She had kept calm & helped others during the waves, even though shes only 15 & was extremely frightened. She just broke down & all the emotions & stresses of the day came flooding out in hot tears. It was only the kindness of others later in the day that restored my faith in humanity.

2005-01-01T05:00:00.000-08:00

Pic 16 different view of the jeep 'parked' on our hotel stairs. This is taken from the top pool area

2005-01-01T04:58:00.000-08:00

Pic 17 This pic is taken on the road at the front of our hotel. It is situated at the very end of Karon beach, just before the hill going up into Kata Centre & very near the Dino Park. The building on the left is all that remains of the 'Ruam Thep Inn'. It was a restaurant next door to the 'Karon Beach Resort'. The upside down car you can see on the beach was recovered by a JCB

2005-01-01T04:57:00.000-08:00

Pic 18 The back of our hotel. In the ditch behind the man in the orange top is a black car on its side, the red vehicle in front of it is a tuk-tuk. I hope with all my heart these vehicles were just parked & did not contain passengers

2005-01-01T04:55:00.000-08:00

As the first wave came in

2005-01-01T04:54:00.000-08:00

This is Kata Noi beach just 5 minutes before the tsunami hit. My daughter took this photo as i was walking up the beach to her