The Tsunami of Koh Phi Phi by Andrew, Adrian Paul's brother
On December 26th 2004, a great wave, more infamously known by now, as "The Tsunami", hit the island I was living on. Phi Phi island has been my home for nearly 11 years and I live(d) here with my wife and 2 children. We had (have) a small business that organized eco adventure tours around the islands. Life was good. We were surviving well, our business finally complete and like many others living on the island that had invested everything they had, we felt that this would be the year where we would see the fruit of our efforts.
Sadly though, once again, things that were beyond our control intervened, and within a few swift minutes everything we once had was washed away. Our house, our business, and for many, their loved ones.
Fortunately for me, my family and I survived. We were forewarned by the sudden panic in the moments before the wave struck and we had just enough time to make it to safety. Had my children being out playing on the beach like they normally would have, I would probably be telling another story right now. There isn't a day that goes by that I don't stop and ponder the many other possibilities of what might have happened.
With all the noise and commotion in trying to get to higher ground, it wasn't immediately obvious what had happened. After the first wave had passed, I headed back down to see what had actually occurred. As soon as I saw how much water there was in the middle of the village, my first thoughts turned to all the computers and equipment that might be damaged in my office. Fearing the worst, amid the shouting and screaming, I waded through waist deep water in the direction of my shop. At this point I still had no idea, what the true damage of the wave was going to be.
As I reached my shop and saw the destruction I had not a moment to consider it when someone brought out the first victim of the wave and placed her on the bed in the massage shop in front of my shop. Having just completed a first aid course I attempted to resuscitate the girl, who was in her early twenties, but her lungs were full of sea water and as much as I tried I could not help her. She was gone.
I was again forewarned by the screams of panic as people shouted, "It's coming back, there's another wave", and I left the dead girl to climb up on the roof of my shop. I was joined by many other people and from there we all saw the power of the second wave come in from the back of the island on the Loh Da Lum Bay side. It was like a wall, much larger than the first and it picked up everything in its path and took it away. Screams suddenly stopped. A silence fell. It was obvious that the many people that had been trapped in the debris of the first wave had not been able to escape the onslaught of the second.
I could not believe what was happening. No one could. In all my years I would not have believed that this would have happened to our beautiful little island. In speaking with many friends since the Tsunami, there is a common feeling that it is just a dream and any moment now we will wake to see that everything will be all right. That our families are safe, that our homes are still there. But no.
The remaining day was spent helping those who could be helped. Teams were organized, and Thais and foreigners worked together to gather the injured people in makeshift stretchers. The pharmacies were raided as quickly as possible for any medicines that might have survived. Water and food was collected and distributed. We had no idea what had happened, as we had no telephones working. Some rumors started to come through that there had been an earthquake in Indonesia and there was going to be another Tsunami.
Everyone sat and waited. We had no idea how long we would be there.
During the many foraging sessions for supplies, I discovered that it was impossible to pass through certain areas. The wave had created walls of debris cutting off the streets. We searched for missing friends, some we found had found refuge either on the higher floors of the Phi Phi hotel or on the Viewpoint. Some we could not find. I don't know how many dead bodies I saw this day, or how many we turned over to check their identity. Finally the effect of the day wore me down and I sought refuge with my family, who were waiting on the mountain. Eventually night fell and we spent the night awake on the hill top in the jungle.
It will not be a night to forget. Darkness has a way of increasing people's fears. Although we were about 80 meters above sea level, many people had no idea that in their panic to get away from the first wave that they had ascended so high on to the mountain. The fear of a second wave reaching the now large crowd was creating hysteria. On many occasions, some one would crack, they would hear some noise, or the sound of the wind was like running water and they would scream. At the sound of this, 200 people would start running blindly through the dark jungle, until they realized that it was a false alert. Everyone was on edge, and things didn't start to relax until the first rays of light.
The following day we descended to the village. Or what was left of it. Many more bodies had been pulled from the wreckage and I covered my daughter's eyes. These were images that none of us should have been witness to, not alone a 4 year girl. My eight-year-old son walked bravely through the streets. He understood what we meant when we asked him to look the other way.
The full impact of the Tsunami was now apparent. There was nothing left. Hundreds of buildings had been destroyed, like they were made of matchsticks. People's belongings lay in the street, but covered with so much sand and dirt it was hard to recognize anything. The looks on the faces of the people around me said it all. I never would have thought that I would experience such a disaster in all my life. I left my wife and children to go and check on the condition of our house. Thinking that is was made of bricks made me feel it might have survived. On reaching my house I had difficulty understanding where I was. I couldn't recognize anything because nothing was where it should have been. Something had collided with our house and taken away everything that we once owned.
I returned to my wife and gave her the news and at this point we decided that it would be safer to get off the island and so we took the first boat possible to Krabi. That was a month ago. Much has happened since then. The discovery of many friends that died and those that survived. We have buried many friends and search yet for those that are still missing. I do not believe we will find most of the people that are missing. There is certainly no hope that they be alive, but just to put a closure on the story is all that relatives can hope for.
Efforts are now concentrated on helping the living victims of Tsunami. Makeshift shelters have been set up in the disaster areas. The villagers have no where else to go, and spend all day waiting for the help promised by the government. Help is coming but not as much from the government as from the private sectors. Thousands of people have donated to help the victims of the Tsunami's and yet we are a long way from safety yet.
At present, the overall consensus is that everyone wishes to go back and try and rebuild their businesses and homes, if the government is willing. This means that the government will need to assist with the basic amenities such as, proper sewage, electricity, water purification and so forth. A number of organizations from foreign private sectors have offered technical assistance with things such as re-planning the village and there are a number of sponsors to help rebuild the school. However, it's not over until the fat lady sings.
Funds will be needed to help rebuild the lives of the community of Phi Phi Island. This will be in the form of education for children that have now been left without parents, businesses that need financial assistance to help open there shops again, and a separate fund that will focus on the clean up process of the beaches and coral reefs.
From my own part, I feel that I have been given a special chance. I was spared the grief of losing anyone in my own immediate family, so therefore any loss of income or property has lost any importance for me. How can I complain about losing a dollar when my friends have lost their husbands, wives and children. It doesn't compare. For this reason, I wish to devote all of my efforts to help Phi Phi Island and the local community to rebuild their lives. I will not accept that we have been defeated by the Tsunami. We shall rebuild Phi Phi Island better than what it was before."
With the help of many businesses on the island, the Phi Phi Island Tsunami Relief Fund was set up through Hi Phi Phi, a community-based charitable initiative of local Koh Phi Phi residents and non-Thais who joined forces to help the people of Phi Phi rebuild their lives after the Indian Ocean tsunami.
Money went to supplying water and food needs for some individuals who had lost all means of livelihood while others quickly started projects to rebuild the island's infrastructure. The current project that is being worked on is the replanting of the island's flora that in certain areas was wiped out by the flooding. 
As everyone knows, on December 26, 2004, the tsunamis of the Indian Ocean decimated thousands of miles of coastline and killed nearly 200,000 people. The human tragedy is enormous. Like many of us, when I saw the news flashes, I couldn't comprehend how water could cause such devastation. I remember the gut feeling of emptiness as I watched the horrific images. But that emptiness soon turned to dread as I saw that the southern part of Thailand had also been hit. You see, my brother and his family lived and worked on one of the small islands of Koh Phi Phi, a one-and-a-half-hour boat trip from Phuket. Apparently, it too had felt the full force of the ocean waves.
Their dream is to be able to go back to Phi Phi to live, but the government is making it very difficult for them and many others by not allowing many new homes to be built. It is so unbelievable that instead of helping these families get their lives back together they are making it so much harder.
