Panic before the storm (a terribly sad series of three pictures taken as the tsunami approaches)

Sydney Morning Herald ^ | 12/30/04

[dead]

Tourists run for their lives as the first of six tsunamis starts to roll towards Hat Rai
Lay Beach, near Krabi in southern Thailand. One woman runs towards the waves.
Photo: AFP

The woman continues to run as the wave advances.
Photo: AFP

With the waves engulfing boats, the woman makes contact with her group. It is not known if they survived.
Photo: AFP

[Muzzle_em]

You need to go back and READ and figure out WHO posted WHAT.
I NEVER said that I thought that dark blue thing in the background was the wave. Pay attention!!!!

Second, I was conversing with another person about getting knocked over by a big wave while playing in the ocean and acknowledging that as FORCEFUL as that wave was, it was NOTHING compared to a tidal wave. What I could "RELATE" to was getting knocked over by a regular wave.

[Principle Over Politics]

So from on the receded waters where they were, they are supposed to wade out to deep enough water to swim in, then swim toward the waves that are almost upon them? Then get far enough out to sea to an area where you normally would be.

Sheesh, you live in a dream world. Wake up and smell the Tsunami!

[SuziQ]

The tourists just don't realize that when those waves get to them, they are STRONG and followed by a whole LOT of water that is going to continue pushing inland. They probably thought the waves would stop at the shore. I'm betting the woman and family did not make it. SAD.

Exactly. Everyone is used to the picture of waves that reach a peak, then break and roll on in. Needless to say, very few expected this to happen.

In Sri Lanka, they just don't GET tsunamis, so most did not realize the warning provided by the water receding as it did. They just thought it was interesting to see all the stuff that was uncovered when the water went out.

We heard on the news that one hotel manager in Thailand knew about this phenomenon, ans when he saw the water going out, went out and got ALL of his hotel patrons off the beach. He saved their lives!

[SuziQ]

These waves had been going for hundreds of miles...which was just building up the force higher and higher......

Quite right! Sir SuziQ described it more as a 'pulse' of water than an wave. It is a solid wall of water, spread out over a long area, that's been going for miles at over 300 mph, followed by several more 'pulses', each higher than the previous one.

[SuziQ]

The well known one at Hilo came ashore as 30 feet high as I recall the stories.

That's how we knew about the receding water phenomenon just before a tsunami. There was a show on the History Channel or the Discovery Channel about it.

[monday]

"You are slamming a woman who likely gave her life trying to warn her family as doing “exactly the wrong thing.”

I wasn't slamming her. I might have done the same thing in her place and I am sympathetic towards the family. Wringing my hands over their fate doesn't really do any good however.

I guess it doesn't really matter if anyone who reads this thread knows what the right thing to do under the circumstances is. You certainly don't care. No one who reads this will ever have to deal with an emergency such as this so I guess I shouldn't have bothered.

[cupcakes]

I was thinking the same thing and then you realize, she is not even thinking of herself, risking her own life to get to her relatives and get them the hell out of there.

[SuziQ]

If the blue area is a land mass, wouldn't it still be visible in the 3rd photo?

The view of the photographer has moved over to the left and tightened up. You can see the direction in which the woman is running and the photographer seems to have followed her motions toward her group. I pray some of them made it, but I'm not hopeful.

[cupcakes]

I was thinking the same thing. The women remaining on the beach all look like their hair is wet, I mean just swimming wet so it would seem they were in water and were left on the beach as it receeded. Plus the closest boat seems to be getting air in the engine.

[mad_as_he$$]

or the camera did....

[monday]

"So from on the receded waters where they were, they are supposed to wade out to deep enough water to swim in, then swim toward the waves that are almost upon them? Then get far enough out to sea to an area where you normally would be."

I suspect they already were wayyyyy out there. They spent all their time coming in instead of going farther out.

[cupcakes]

Yup, I would have to agree. Who would in their right mind stand there knowing something with such capacity for destruction is coming? I can't think of one sane person who would. These folks simply did not know until it was too late that they were in great danger.

[NittanyLion]

I suspect they already were wayyyyy out there. They spent all their time coming in instead of going farther out.

Yeah, if they were way out they'd have had a better chance by going further from land. Pretty counterintuitive to them, but you're right.

[Thud]

Please tell us more about the Thai hotel manager, and post a URL for a news story if you have one.

Thank you.

[arthurus]

bump

[jpsb]

Looks like two Tsunamis to me, the first I'd say is 4-6 the second 6-10. Since the second will somewhat ride in on the first those people could be looking at at up to 16' of water rolling in! And this is in Thialand, with a coast parrel to the direction of the wave and much further away then the hardest hit coast of Indonesia. this has got to be one of the biggest Tsunamis in recorded history. There was a huge local in Alaska but since that wave never made it into the ocean I will not count it.

Tsunamis happen for numerous reasons but a subduction earthquake is very good way to generate one. What happens is the sea floor either rises or falls and all the water above it rises or falls too. This displaces a lot of water and creates a wave that extends all the way to the sea floor, so if the ocean depth at the epicenter was say 2 miles then the wave amplitude was 2 miles and the force of the wave would be proprosoinal to the amount of water displaced. As the wave travel towards the shore the depth of the water lessen and the wave shape changes to match, as the wave hight lessons the wave lenght increases, in other words in stead of being 2 miles tall and 10 feet wide it becomes 10 tall and two miles wide. Of course it is losing energy the entire time so farther away it might be 2 feet tall and one mile wide.

Anyway we have all seen a big swell roll in, but that big swell was maybe what 50 or 100 feet wide? This wave (wave series) was a kilometer or more wide. So when it hit land it just kept going, being pushed by the mile of water behind it. Like a huge flash flood, a mile long wall of water ten feet tall traveling at 30 mph, hitting and entire coast line all at once. Not a good day. And that's what happened at Thailand, imagine poor Indonesia where the wall of water was 25 or 30 feet tall.

Seeing that poor mother run to her doomed family is heart breaking. Maybe a miracle happened and they all lived, poor fools, when all the water drains away from a coast line run like hell to higher ground, do not go play in the mud!

[patent]

>>>I guess it doesn't really matter if anyone who reads this thread knows what the right thing to do under the circumstances is.

Oh puulleeeezzze. No one said anything like that. You are being melodramatic.

>>>>You certainly don't care.

Now you know what I care about too? Wow.

However, you should note that I did address the substance of your "what the right thing to do is" claims. Explain how I "certainly don't care" when I cared to respond substantively as well.

patent

[monday]

"Not to mention which, I’d suggest to you they need a bit more than a “few feet” under the breaking edge of the water. Many who were deeper than that were thrown."

You know of examples?

The breaking edge of a wave is the only part that has dangerous moving water. Just as moving water has tremendous destructive power, a few feet of still water has amazing insulating qualities. A hurricane can be raging overhead but a few feet under the water it is surprising how still and calm it can be.

Obviously the larger the wave the more it will disturb the water below, but I believe you would be surprised at how easy it is to dive below even the largest waves assuming the water is deep enough.

[monday]

"However, you should note that I did address the substance of your "what the right thing to do is" claims. Explain how I "certainly don't care" when I cared to respond substantively as well."

You attacked me and my motives for posting. Obviously you didn't want to hear what I had to say or you wouldn't have attacked me.

"substantively"? How much time have you spent in the ocean? I have surfed in big waves, even waves caused by a hurricane.

As far as telling people what they should do in similar circumstances, you were right. It doesn't matter. No one reading this will ever be faced with a similar situation. I shouldn't have posted my advice.

[Godebert]

"How much time have you spent in the ocean? I have surfed in big waves, even waves caused by a hurricane. As far as telling people what they should do in similar circumstances, you were right. It doesn't matter. No one reading this will ever be faced with a similar situation. I shouldn't have posted my advice.

There's a world of difference between the physics involved with wind driven waves and the Tsunami shown in the photos on this thread. No amount of surfing experience at Waimea or the Pipe would have done you any good in the situation shown in these photos. If you had attempted to run out and dive under the Tsunami shown you would have certainly died. End of story.