SURVIVOR John Thompson - Why I was one of the few to survive, I won't ever know.
John Thompson - Khao Lak Tsunami Survivor
Why I was one of the few to survive, I won’t ever know.
John Thompson, Khao Lak Tsunami Survivor
Information from the website of John Thompson. Reproduced
here by permission.
http://www.sonomacountylaw.com/tsunami/index.htm
Copyright ©
2005-2010 John M. Thompson | Contact jmt@pon.net for photo use
permission and questions/comments.
Thailand: 8,245 Dead
Why
I was one of the few to survive I won't ever know. My fortune was partially due
to luck and partially due to a few calculated gambles. This website tells the
story of how I survived one of the world's most destructive natural disasters
in modern history.
Having
narrowly cheated death, I am left with a sense of extreme optimism for my
future. Perhaps because I came so close to losing everything, that now every
day of life seems like a new beginning. Being laid off from my job upon my
return home was not a crisis. Combined with surviving the tsunami I saw it as
an opportunity to reassess where my life has been going and how I could rebuild
my career in a meaningful way.
This
website is dedicated to the memory of the thousands who were less fortunate
than I on the fateful day of 26 December 2004. Special thanks go to those I was
with during and after the disaster - Petra, Bob, and Timothy.
Here is a timeline of what happened to me those days in Khao Lak, Thailand.
Saturday, 25 December 2004 16:53:25
Arrived at Khao
Lak. Explored area north of bungalow at Khaolak Orchid Beach Resort.
Enjoyed Christmas
dinner at Ristorante Da Gorgio and then later had desert at a beach front bar.
Sunday, 26 December 2004 08:00
While laying on
mattress, contemplating whether or not to sleep in longer, felt vibrating
sensation for about two minutes. Did not think it was an earthquake and thought
nothing of it after vibrating stopped.
9:00 Enjoyed breakfast at Mai's Quiet Zone on open patio overlooking the
beach. Watched two boys from English family I had met when checking in the
previous day playing frisbee in the waves.
9:45 Stopped by motorbike rental shop and paid 200 Baht for one more rental
day.
10:00 Purchased souvenir shirt and
some food at market across the street from motorbike rental shop.
10:10 Began motorbike journey with eventual goal of checking out the Poseidon
Bungalows which had been recommended to me. Also intended on visiting the Ton
Pling Waterfall on the way.
10:17 Unsuccessful attempt at finding "View Point" as listed on the
map. Continued driving down the road.
10:21 Parked motorbike at Sea Gull Andaman Resort and walked down to inspect
beach and what appeared to be an extremely low tide.
10:26:16 Noticed wooden longtail boat struggling in the water and eventually
turn over. Also saw many people standing on the shore looking at something,
which I then assumed was the struggling boat (but in retrospect I think they
were looking at the approaching wave or the bay empty of water). Took camera
out of bag to take picture of boat.
10:26:23 Seven seconds later: After taking picture of boat, the bay had already
completely filled with water and I took picture of what I thought was just an
extra large wave.
10:27:14 Fifty two seconds later: When I realized the wave was not stopping at
the shore I and others at the beach began running as fast as possible. Since I
already had the camera out, I took a picture over my shoulder as I ran, hoping
to capture the rushing wave.
Running from the Waves - Photo by John Thompson
10:28:04 Fifty seconds later: It was obvious that the wave was not stopping and
that I was not going to be able to outrun the wave so I ran up the front
entrance to the nearest big building, dodging falling roof tiles, and hoping
that the building would not be washed away or collapse. Took photo of now
flooded street as I ran into the hotel.
10:31:41 Climbed up on wooden balcony railing and prayed I was high enough above
the water. The water eventually came up to the top of the railing and then
started receeding. Started taking photos as the water drained out.
View of the Courtyard - Photo by John Thompson
Woman on mattress in the water
2004 11:01:04 Sought refuge in alcove at highest point in the building. Was bracing
for additional waves which never came.
John Thompson, On the Roof - Waiting for the water to recede -
Photo by John Thompson
12:04:16 Almost 2 hours after seeing the struggling boat, the water finally
drained out far enough so that it seemed safe to walk out.
Walking Through The Rubble - Photo by John Thompson
12:20:34 Hitched ride on a passing pickup truck back into main beach of Khao
Lak. Photographed some of the devastation as seen from the road.
Sunday, 26 December 2004
14:11:14 Photographed what was believed to be a second wave but which turned out
to be a false alarm. Spent the rest of the day and night in safety on top of
high hill.
Monday, 27 December 2004
09:27:39 After being scared back to the hill by several false alarms, Tim and I
finally made our way through the wreckage to retreive some of his belongings
from his third floor hotel room before beginning hike out of the area.
11:26:50 During another false alarm we were driven to military staging area
where we were finally taken by private car to a bus station to catch VIP bus to
Bangkok.
Friday 31 December 2004
06:59:32 Solomon and I inspected donated goods at military side of Bangkok
airport while waiting for transport plane back to Krabi.
Saturday 1 January 2005
09:39:23 Distributed donations to owners of damaged longtail boats in Krabi
area.
Saturday 1 January 2005
12:18:37 First return vist to Khao Lak area to determine extent of damage.
Toured area and local hospitals with Jenny, a relief worker for American
medical aid organization.
Sunday 2 January 2005
12:18:25 Toured ruined resort island of Phuket. Photographed destruction at
Patong beach.
Daily Collection of recently found bodies - Photo
by John Thompson
Uncovered bodies waiting to be identified - Photo
by John Thompson
Monday 10 January 2005
14:55:03 Second return trip to Khao Lak. Distributed thousands of dollars of
relief aid to refugee camp near Takua Pa.
Tuesday 11 January 2005
09:08:11 Final bit of aid work. Distributed donated money to Monitee Temple in
Krabi.
Saturday 22 January 2005
07:12 Returned
home to California after continuing trip to southern Thailand, Malaysia, and
Singapore.
December 26, 2005
MY STORY – ONE YEAR LATER
After coming
within 15 seconds of an almost certain death one year ago today, one of the
most common questions I am asked is "How did that experience change your
perspective on life?" To answer that question, I look back on how I have
lived during this past year.
As all people realize who come so close to loosing
everything, the only thing that really matters is life. While it is nice to
have physical things without life none of those things matter. In recognition
of this simple premise, I try to make the most of life, by continuing to travel,
mixing work with play when possible, and developing new hobbies.
After returning from Thailand, I spent some
additional time traveling, spending a month in Peru exploring the Amazon and
climbing peaks high in the Andes. In May I came into possession of a new
sailboat and have sailed almost every weekend since then. Beginning in July I
started working again as an attorney. Although I currently work for a law firm,
I continue to explore other career opportunities.
As for the future, I am sure the lessons from the
tsunami will stay with me forever. Not one day has gone by where I have not
somehow been reminded of the traumatic and overwhelming events of one year ago.
I have not been able to answer the question as to why I survived when over
223,000 people did not, inlcuding the fact that 80% of Thailand's tsunami
casualties occured in Khao Lak.
Labels: John Thompson, Khao Lak, Krabi, Monitee Temple, Orchid Beach Resort, Takua Pa, tsunami, tsunami survivor
posted by Rick Von Feldt @ 10:16 AM
5 comments
