Trauma lingers on for survivors of the lethal 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami

BAN NAM KHEM, Thailand — The 20-year-old freshman pupil was nonetheless asleep that Sunday morning on the household’s home on the Andaman Coastline of southern Thailand when her mother, sensing one thing wasn’t proper, woke her up saying they wanted to go away immediately.

The day is endlessly seared in Neungduangjai Sritrakarn’s reminiscence: Dec. 26, 2004, the day the lethal Indian Ocean tsunami struck throughout South and Southeast Asia, after a 9.1 magnitude earthquake off the west coast of Indonesia’s Sumatra island.

It was certainly one of fashionable historical past’s worst pure disasters.

Neungduangjai’s mother had observed an odd sample of whitecaps on the ocean, simply as a relative who returned from a fishing journey got here by to warn them. They grabbed all of the members of the family’ important paperwork and hopped on motorbikes.

A survivor from tsunami Nuengduangjai Sritrakarn talks to the Related Press reporters throughout an interview clarify tsunami hit to Ban Nam khem, Takuapa district of Phang Nga province, southern Thailand.

Sakchai Lalit/AP

disguise caption

toggle caption

Sakchai Lalit/AP

Inside minutes, Neungduangjai, her mom, father, brother and sister have been rushing away, making an attempt to get so far as they may from their village of Ban Nam Khem. Trying again, Neungduangjai noticed a surging wall of water, taller than her dwelling, transferring towards shore from distant.

She had by no means seen something prefer it.

They acquired about 3 kilometers (1.8 miles) away when the wall of water crashed into the shore of Phang Nga province and caught up with them, knocking them off their bikes. The water was darkish, sweeping all types of objects, man-made and pure.

Nuengduangjai pulled herself to her ft however may barely stand within the transferring mass — the water was nearly as much as her knees.

She did not know on the time that the tsunami had hit a dozen international locations, leaving about 230,000 useless, round a 3rd of them in Indonesia. Some 1.7 million individuals have been displaced, principally within the 4 worst-affected international locations: Indonesia, Sri Lanka, India and Thailand.

Alongside Thailand’s Andaman coast, a minimum of 5,400 individuals have been killed and a few 3,000 stay lacking to this present day, in keeping with the Thai authorities.

The shrimp farm the place Neungduangjai’s household labored and lived was worn out.

Fisherman gather fish at Ban Nam Khem, the place tsunami hit 2004, Takuapa district of Phang Nga province, southern Thailand, Monday, Dec. 9, 2024.

Sakchai Lalit/AP

disguise caption

toggle caption

Sakchai Lalit/AP

As an alternative immediately is a thriving bar and restaurant — the fruits of Neungduangjai’s rebuilding efforts — with a porch looking to a phenomenal sea view. A view she stated would not be there if not for the tsunami that destroyed components of the coast.

In Phang Nga, life has been rebuilt and the vacationers are again — on the floor, all is ok.

Neungduangjai, who was dwelling from her research in Bangkok for the New Yr break when the tsunami hit, stated her quick household survived however they misplaced 5 family members, together with her grandparents. Certainly one of her uncles was by no means discovered.

After every week of staying with family members in close by Ranong province, she went again. She remembers the stench of demise and the way she thought all the things had been moved from its authentic place.

“There were bodies everywhere,” she stated. “When I returned to the village, I couldn’t recognize a single thing. … Everything was different.”

Although vacationers have little cause to note them, reminders of the tragedy abound immediately in Phang Nga — indicators displaying an evacuation route, tsunami shelters close to seaside areas, a number of memorials and museums displaying wreckage and photographs that inform the story of that day.

Sanya Kongma, the assistant to Ban Nam Khem’s village chief, stated improvement has come a good distance, and that the standard of life within the village is nice in comparison with 20 years in the past.

A lady walks on Bang Niang Seaside, the place tsunami hit 2004, Takuapa district of Phang Nga province, southern Thailand, Sunday, Dec. 8, 2024. (AP Photograph/Sakchai Lalit)

Sakchai Lalit/AP

disguise caption

toggle caption

Sakchai Lalit/AP

However the haunting reminiscences and the trauma of what they lived by are very a lot current and worry is rarely distant, he stated.

“Even now … if there’s an announcement from the government on TV, or whatever, that there’s an earthquake in Sumatra, everyone will be spooked,” he stated.

About yearly, a siren blares off in a tsunami evacuation drill. However what is supposed to reassure residents of their security could cause some survivors to relive their ache.

Somneuk Chuaykerd misplaced certainly one of her younger sons to the tsunami whereas she was out at sea, fishing together with her husband.

The 50-year-old nonetheless lives in the identical spot, the ocean proper at her yard. In evacuation drills, she has realized to maintain an emergency tote bag with all essential paperwork. The bag is in her bed room, together with a photograph of the little boy she misplaced.

However the siren freezes her up each time and sends her heartbeat racing. “I don’t know what to do. I don’t know what to grab,” she says. “It’s so scary.”

However she has made peace with the tragedy and has no plans to maneuver away.

“I live by the sea. This is my living. I don’t have anywhere else to go,” she stated.

As for Nuengduangjai, for years after the tsunami, each time she appeared on the sea she would get a panic assault. A roaring sound of waves haunted her in her sleep.

She selected to maneuver again dwelling after faculty and make a residing proper subsequent to the ocean. She is happy with her bar and restaurant.

“I’m still scared, but I have to live with it, because it’s my home,” she stated. “Some people moved away, but I did not. I’m still here.”