Thailand

Another morbid sight in Asia, if its not genocides then its natural disasters.

Ridiculous how this earth can turn against humans and just destroy everything and everyone in its way. After visiting the tsunami museum, I am convinced there is probably few natural disasters worse than a tsunami, its a silent killer. At least most other natural disasters have early warning systems of some kind.

The Tsunami of 2004 hit without much warning as the earthquake causing the waves happened underwater far away from civilization that would notice the quake. Not only that the wave of water was not really detectable in deep waters as it only really became a high wave when it hit shallow waters.

When an earthquake occurs on the ocean floor it can displace a large amount of water and create a tsunami. The strength and distance the wave comes ashore is influenced by the angle of the beach and sea floor along the coastline. Beaches that are shallower and longer, like the beaches at Koh Lak, can experience more damage than steeper beaches. Steeper beaches slows the wave down and reduces its hight.

At depths of 6000 meters waves can travel at speeds up to 855 km per hour. Like a jet plane traveling at these speeds, the tsunami can cover great distances in a short amount of time.

As soon as the water hit land it broke the flimsy land structures and a stew of debris in the water is likely what killed most people.

This Thai navy boat was found right where we took the photo after the tsunami which is about 2.5km from the closest beach and on the other-side of the town of Kho Lak. Crazy that the water was so high to carry this boat all this way considering there must have been loads of buildings between here and the actual beach. Fittingly they erected a manorial that resembles a large wave close to where the boat was found.

The 2004 devastating tsunami struck 12 countries bordering the Indian Ocean, from Indonesia to Somalia. Thailand suffered 8,218 fatalities of the almost 230,000 reported fatalities across the 12 countries. Making it only the 4th hardest hit country. Indonesia suffered 167,736 fatalities, Sri Lanka suffered 35,322 fatalities and India suffered 18,045 fatalities. However the world media only really covered the deviation in Thailand and not so much the other 11 countries, maybe because Thailand is such a tourist hotspot and most victims were tourists from first world countries.

I can't imagine what it takes to pick up the peaces after a disaster like this. Some people were the only ones in their families to survive, how do they go from there?

I just pray that we never have to go through a devastating disaster like this. I can't help thinking of the bible story of Noah and how God promised to never flood the world again and every time I see a rainbow 🌈 I am reminded of Gods promise.

{Roedolf}Read more