Thanks for the background information. I just spoke to someone who lives on Phuket and works along Patong Beach. (I was there a month ago).
She was given the day off because of Christmas and planned on lounging on the beach but slept late instead. She said Patong Beach is gone! The optical shop she manages was destroyed. She would have been injured if she would have been working.
She went to the hospital to volunteer since she speaks fluent English (she's from the Philippines originally). She said it is full of people with severe injuries, most of them western tourists. She went to one room and it was full of bodies, including many children. She just started sobbing and decided it was too much for her. There were warnings of bigger waves so many people spent the night at the top of a hill...and was very cold through the night.
People were scared so there were lots of injuries and deaths from motor vehicle accidents. She has a motor scooter there but is not riding it after seeing so many accidents.
She saw cars stacked atop each other and jet skis and boats hundreds of feet inland.
I was really worried about her and thank God she decided to stay in bed instead of going to the beach in the morning.
I told her the news is reporting 500 dead in Thailand. She says that when the real numbers come out it will be MUCH higher.
Thanks for the report. I've been praying for the victims.
I'm listening to ABC Radio at 11 PM CST and they said 13,000 are dead and the total is likely to rise.
I think the worst earthquake in history was in China and took over 100,000.