U.K. girl saved tourists after raising warning (‘Water started to go funny,’ 10-year-old recalls)

msnbc.msn.com ^ | Jan. 2, 2005 | msnbc-msn-reuters

[crushelits]

‘Water started to go funny,’ 10-year-old recalls

LONDON - A 10-year-old British girl saved 100 other tourists from the Asian tsunami having warned them a giant mass of water was on its way after learning about the phenomenon weeks earlier at school, a newspaper reported.

“I was on the beach and the water started to go funny,” Tilly Smith told the Sun at the weekend from Phuket, Thailand.

“There were bubbles and the tide went out all of a sudden. I recognized what was happening and had a feeling there was going to be a tsunami. I told mummy.”

While other holidaymakers stood and stared as the disappearing waters left boats and fish stranded on the sands, Tilly recognized the danger signs because she had done a school project on giant waves caused by underwater earthquakes.

Quick action by Tilly’s mother and Thai hotel staff meant Maikhao beach was quickly cleared, just minutes before a huge wave crashed ashore. The beach was one of the few on the Thai island of Phuket where no one was killed.

Her teacher, Andrew Kearney, paid tribute to his quick-thinking student.

“Tilly is a very bright, level-headed girl ... it is an incredible coincidence that our class were learning about this type of tsunami just two weeks before Christmas,” he told the newspaper.

On Sunday, the British Foreign Office said 40 Britons were confirmed dead from the Dec. 26 tsunami, which has claimed some 123,000 victims. The toll is expected to rise further.

[DTogo]

I just read this on Foxnews.com. Another good reason to pay attention in school! We had similar warnings on a trip to Hawaii, seemed like everyone there was aware of what to do if the tide goes way out suddenly - run for your life!

[blurb]

I'm just surprised that this was such a rare occurence.. Shouldn't more people have been aware of what this 10-year-old girl learned in school?

[AntiGuv]

What's amazing is that a lot of people didn't flee even after the smaller first wave crashed in.

[SedVictaCatoni]

Shouldn't more people have been aware of what this 10-year-old girl learned in school?

Worse, many people did the exact opposite - ran down the beach to grab all the instant free fish.

[Bush gal in LA]

I think its such a rare phenomenon there that unfortunately the thought of something like this happening never even occurred to them.

[crz]

Education is a wonderful thing when you have respectful instructors who really give a rip.

When that water goes out for no reason, that means a big one is coming in. The older folks in Hawaii will tell you that for a fact.

[crz]

Funny you should post that. They did the exact same thing in Hawaii when they got hit in the 50s or 60s. They all ran out and had a hay day picking up fish and stuff. Problem was, most of those who did that never got to enjoy those things.

Just like flushing a toilet.

[Cold Heart]

The little girl and all those people were very fotunate her teacher taught her about tsunamis instead of some of the PC crap that is taught, both there and here.

[Steve Eisenberg]

I read a few stories on this over at news.google.com, and the only original credited source is the London Sun newspaper. Reliable? NOT!

I can say that I have now told my kids about the warning signs for a Tsunami, as have, I hope and presume, hundreds of millions of parents around the world.

[solitas]

I'm just surprised that this was such a rare occurence.. Shouldn't more people have been aware of what this 10-year-old girl learned in school?

Maybe she hasn't grown-up as self-involved as those around her at the time of the tidal wave.

Actually, she lucked-out: the trough preceeded the crest to the east of the fault; the crest was the leader toward the west (to India). Had it been the other way 'round, she might've been a goner too.