Tsunami Survivor

Our tour guide for the Big Buddha tour is a tsumani survivor. His name is Sunny. He was on Phi Phi Don Island when the tsunami hit. Sunny told me that he was on the beach when he saw the water retreat and so he walked to the middle of the island to find refuge. He said he was under water for at least 30 seconds before he surfaced. He believes that his faith in God (he is Muslim) saved him. He told me that he imagined God’s hand reaching in to the water to pull him to the surface. Sunny’s younger brother (19 years old) had come over to visit him and it was his first time on Phi Phi Island – he did not survive.He could only identify his brother’s body from his shorts because he said it was impossible to identify their faces – he said they all looked the same after the tsunami, but I’m not exactly sure what he meant, whether it was because they were all covered in dirt or sand, I didn’t ask for details. It’s a sad story that still haunts Sunny.

In the photo you can see just how much this island (Bamboo Island) was under water after the tsumani.

Over 58,000 people were affected (killed, missing and still unidentified). They now have a Tsunami warning system and evacuation plans.