Tsunami!!

Today, while sitting at our favourite beach, speaking to a Swedish couple, who were sitting beside us, a very loud siren began to blare out a huge warning.  Then an announcement came, first in Thai, then English, stating that an earthquake occurred in the middle of the ocean, and a tsunami was coming, and everyone was to leave the beach immediately.  Totally surprised by this news we just looked at each other!!  People who were swimming in the ocean exited...families gathered their crying children... and left the beach.  Many people looked around in disbelief... like us  The Swedish couple said they were here when the 2004 tsunami hit Thailand, and said it was awful.   They packed up their stuff and left Dodge.  So... we did the same!  We got about half a block down the beach, when some random guy stopped us and, said it was only a drill.  Hoping he was right, we turned around, went back to our spot and reclaimed our loungers!!  And yes, it was only a drill, but an unnerving one!!

What we experienced was an early warning system set up by the Thai government.  The 2004 tsunami that hit this side of  Thailand claimed around 8000 lives, causing millions of dollars of damage to homes and businesses.  You can see huge warning towers along the high-risk beachfront areas that broadcast announcements in various languages and tips from the public regarding potential or unfolding disasters.

I try to imagine what it must have been like when the tsunami hit, and the aftermath of its destruction.  I was totally mesmerized by this event when it occurred in 2004, and was glued to the TV, continually watching the news.  Today, I look around the different beaches of where this enormous wave claimed the land, and marvel at how normal things now look   The elephants we see everyday on our way to the beach were used to help remove the heavy debris.  People from all over the world came to lend a helping hand!!  It's to bad the world can't work together like this in other countries!!