We are in the bay of Nai harn (south of the island).
9:30 a.m.: Many boats are lifting their anchor in a rush. A big tidal wave just hit the beach of The Méridien, sweeping everything away.
This tidal wave was created by an earthquake under the sea located North-West of Sumatra. We were lifted by 5 meters then went down 10 meters but we didn't lift our anchor, we were in the middle of the bay and far from the beach on a depth of 13 meters.
The swell that followed the tidal wave lasted for more than an hour and had a magnitude of 4 meters. We were very lucky to be anchored where we were with enough depth to prevent the wave from breaking on us.
The boats in the Ao Chalong bay suffered more since the depth there is between 3 and 5m which means that when the tidal wave withdrew, it left the bay half empty with boats "beached". Some diving boats were projected in the mangrove along with power boats.
In Patong, the most popular place for tourists, the season was at its peak. The bars (located 200m from the sea) were serving their first customers when they were swept away. Some sailing boats, anchored too near to the beach released their anchor in a panic and even lost their dinghies since the current left by the tidal wave was around 7 knots dragging them on the beach. A 9m sailing boat was projected beyond the road, stopped by some coconut trees and as the wave withdrew she was rejected at sea with no damage. Unbelievable but true!
Unfortunately, people on the beach and in the streets nearby were not so lucky and were swept away by the tidal wave.
A tourist was on his balcony when it happened. The wave came up to the 3rd floor, he said, as all the people were rushing up to the roof where they saw this massive amount of water coming from very far then breaking in a gigantic wave on the beach sweeping away everything and unfortunately many people.
He couldn't believe it. It was really frightening!
Near the bridge next to the Ratanachai shipyard where we were last month, the fishing boats are piled up. Some of them sunk under the pressure of other boats. It's unbelievable to see what the strength of a tidal wave can do.
In the bay where we are, the tidal wave swept the beach of The Méridien but we still don't know if there were casualties. At the end of the Tsunami, we looked closely at the surroundings and saw, in shock, that all the small restaurants, shops, travel agencies which were close to the beach were no longer there. Everything went with the wave: the buildings and their contents. We saw debris floating in the bay for the rest of the day but no one dear move from their boats because there were talks of a second wave which, fortunately, never came.
Our second-hand motorbike that we just bought one month ago was among the debris. It was parked near the beach and was totally smashed. With our friends from "Wilmi" we brought it back to the boat to clean it with soft water but the damages are too big. It had to be carried away.
But this is nothing compared to the Thai people who virtually lost everything. We have many doubts that any insurance will cover a natural disaster.
We are very sad for the Thai people who started off a brilliant season compared to the previous years. 5 days before New Year's Eve, they have to clean the mess and start from scratch. It's a disaster for Thailand and it really makes us feel sad because we love this country!
Luckily, the following day, the solidarity started with "yachties" joining the Thai people on the beach to pick up the debris, burn the broken wood and start some small restaurants all over again. Hope is there and it's true after any natural disaster and it's good to see. Hope is everything!
Minuit was in the middle of this bay (Nai Harn)
far away from the beach.
1 hour after the disaster
Fishing boats in the river
1 hour after the disaster
Fishing boats in the river
Charts reproduced courtesy of Andaman Sea Pilot