|
|
 TSUNAMI UPDATE 19 January 2005 With over 50,000 baht raised already, President Joob will present our donations to Kamala and Kalim Schools (50% each) on Thursday, 20 January. Thanks again to club members for their kind support. This is DIRECT support from our club to the schools we want to help - no middlemen involved, just direct financial aid from people who really care! Patong itself is slowly returning to normality, although without the hoards of tourists normally on the island at this time. Tom's recent email summed it up: A lot of the businesses and hotels on the beach road are already renovating, though tourists here are almost non-existent. It's actually the most idyllic, serene Patong I've seen in over 10 years. Hardly anyone on the beach, no deck chairs, 3 jetskis at most, no boats, and the sand is a clean, powdery white like it was the first time I came here as the wave washed away the dirty stuff on top. It's a shame it had to happen in such a horrible way, but I think maybe Phuket will be better for it if they use this opportunity to rebuild and re-organize with more ecological responsibility as the government is promising to do. |
Foreground: Bud and his truck next to Chez Bernard's former roof Update 6 January 2005 From all reports, it appears that all members of Phuket Boardriders Club are safe and well, although many have lost their businesses, jobs and livelihoods. The Club itself lost anything that was in Bud's Bar, which was totally destroyed as was Sabai Beach Restaurant where we usually hang out. Next season is going to be very different from the happier times of late, and the Club will be actively seeking sponsorships and community support to help our members and their families through this disaster. As the majority of our Thai members work on the beach or in tourist dependent industries, it is amazing that none were killed or injured, but unfortunately most have lost their livelihoods either directly through Tsunami damage or indirectly through the predicted downturn in tourism. Despite the heavy losses personally and to our club in general, Phuket Boardriders are working together to generate sponsorships and donations for rebuilding of the Kalim and Kamala Schools, of which many of our junior members are pupils. Our fundraising for club member assistance is totally separate to the appeal for rebuilding our local schools. Club President, Joob Aiyarak of DCS Consulting Engineers is co-ordinating our effort and has set up a bank account for direct credit of donations. We have an audit system in place, to be overseen by Club Executive, comprising of several local businessmen and a local government representative. Further information about the club is available at http://www.phuketboardriders.com or any of our executive: President Joob: chanin@dcs.co.th, Non-Executive Chairman Tom: tomkat@phuket.ksc.co.th or Non-Executive Chairman Russ: russ@straddiesurf.com. Direct deposits can be made to: Bank: KASIKORNBANK - Patong Branch, Thailand Acc. Name: Mr. Chanin Aiyarak Acc. No.: 332-2-43982-1 Acc. Type: Saving account SWIFT Code: KASITHBK Please email chanin@dcs.co.th if you transfer money, so he can make a record. A Thank You page will be uploaded to our website at http://www.phuketboardriders.com in acknowledgment of donors' kindness. The following is an extract from Tom's email which describes events from our perspective, and has a link to Tom's photos taken on the 27th of December - during clean up the day after Patong Beach was hit by a 20 foot wave. For those of you who are regular visitors here or just interested, I will describe the state of things below. If you are only interested in more scenes of destruction not covered on CNN, I have posted some photo's I took today at Patong Beach here in Phuket at: http://www.tomkatconsulting.com/tsunami.htm Note that this is one day after the event, so there has been a fair amount of cleaning up (beleive it or not!). So, as you surely know by now, a major earthquake off the northern end of Sumatra sent a huge tsunami to Phuket (among other places) which arrived at around 10am on Sunday morning. I have heard 2 firsthand accounts from Thai friends (Bud from Sabai and Day, the surfer dude who rents motorbikes on the beach road in front of the Holiday inn). Both accounts are basically the same, and go something like this: All appeared to be a normal high season day until suddenly the ocean rapidly receded. Guys who were flailing about on their rented jetskis suddenly found themselves on dry sand, Boats anchored as far as half a kilometer out likewise were grounded. Those with half a brain (including Bud and Day) realized something serious was going down. A lot of Thais and tourists started walking out onto the bare sand to check out the flailing fish and whatnot. Those with any sense started to run for the hills. As soon as the water reached it's lowest point, it began rushing back in a grinding 20 foot surge. By this time, Day and Bud were half way to the second road and just made it there in time to avoid getting swept away. Of course, those on the beach or their beachfront hotel rooms weren't so lucky. I guess there were 2 or 3 more surges after the first one just to add insult to injury. Don't beleive the numbers they give you on CNN. There are several hundred dead in Patong alone. When I went down there today, they were pumping out the (below street level) supermarket under Ocean shopping center on the beach road and pulling out dead bodies left and right. There are also all the people "un-accounted for" who simply got sucked out to sea. No doubt they will be washing up in the next few days, or perhaps we'll find them (or what's left of them) when we are out surfing on the first swell next May. Having said that, I've made a lot of phone calls and, so far, everyone (Thai and farang included) that I know are accounted for, so it looks like everyone we know who may have been at the beach made it out alive. From what I saw today, everything from the beach road to about 3/4 of the way to the second road is completely destroyed. Most of the structures are still standing, but all the first floors, and many of the second floors, are completely wiped out and filled with debris. Sabai beach still stands, but Bud's Bar is up in a coconut tree somewhere, and every wall and moveable object in the place is gone. Check out the photos. In answer to your questions, other than Bud's car being severely damaged, yes, that is Ou's black 4X4 wedged into what were the toilets behind Sabai. The amount and scope of debris strewn about everywhere is indescribable. Everything from counterfeit cd's, shoes, auto parts, glass, medicines from destroyed pharmacies, clothing, photographs, suitcases, boats, cars; anything you can think of is all over the place. Bring your metal detectors next time you come as the beach will surely be a goldmine. The damage is unbelievable. Especially the way cars and boats were strewn about in all sorts of awkward positions and locations. I reckon it will take several weeks to clean up, and probably months before the beach road looks anything like normal. I also took a drive down the coast. Unbelievably, all the beaches between Patong and Kata Noi look almost normal. The shops on the beach road in Karon appear to have been untouched and the whole area in general looks like it could be cleaned up in just a few days. At Kata Noi, tourists were on the beach sunbathing as if nothing had even happened. The only spot that seems to have gotten a bit of the brunt is the north end of Kata, but nothing like Patong. Otherwise, word has it that Kamala, Bangtao, Nai Yang, and up in Kao Lak are completely decimated. Maybe even worse than Patong. You can imagine the number of dead Thai villagers between Koh Lanta and Ranong. I have no doubt it is in the thousands. Needless to say, it looks like the high season is over just when it was getting started. The tourists are shipping out in droves, and those scheduled to come have already cancelled. The economy will be completely devastated after the past weak seasons during SARS, the Bali bombing, Bird Flu, etc. So, any of you planning on coming to Phuket in the near future, don't. This place will be in complete mayhem for at least the next month, if not longer. Perhaps the only bonus from all this is that there will certainly be some interesting banks for next surf season. Depending on the location, the sand from the beach has been either pushed on shore or sucked out to sea. The overturned boat just down from Sabai (see photos) should provide for an interesting take-off spot if it's still there when the monsoon comes. That's about all I can think of for now. If you have any questions or inquiries about people or places, let me know. Happy New Year!!!! Tom The impact of this disaster upon the local communities along Phuket's beachfront is yet to come. Most of our members work on the beach either as life guards, jet ski or parasailing guys, beach boys or in several other tourist dependent businesses. If predictions of extreme downturn in tourism eventuate, local communities will be devastated, particularly after the other hardships Tom mentions of recent years. Many of our 100 Thai members are likely to need a lot of assistance, and Phuket Boardriders Club seeks everyone's compassion and kindness in sponsorships or donations for our less fortunate members. Any companies, organizations or individuals wishing to help the club and its Thai members, please contact Joob or Tom in Patong, or Russ in Australia.  Click for Tom's Tsunami photos |