Tsunami info
Many people have asked us what really happened and what really took place in each and every Raya Divers location. So much happened that we really at first did not have the time to digest it ourselves, not to mention explaining it to others. We have published a book with detailed explanations of our story what happened 26.-28.12.2005 and the explanations of the following aid work we started for the Khao Lak people. Unfortunately at the moment the book is only published in the Finnish language, the book is costing 20 euros and 8 euros per book will be donated to the victims of Khao Lak. Here is, however, a general description of what happened just when the waves hit.
RAYA DIVERS PHUKET
Part of the staff and 12 basic course students were starting their second day of the course at Yanui Beach. Due to alertness and quick action of our staff, all those people were taken to a safe place up the hill in time. Unfortunately, while helping the last people near the beach, our Swedish instructor got swept away by the wave and was seriously injured. His life is not in danger anymore, but even 6 months after the tsunami he still needs hospital treatment and he had to go back to Sweden for treatment due to insurance problems.
Yanui Beach was badly damaged. Many of the other tourists on the beach and local people living there got injured, and 8 people lost their lives.
The rest of our Phuket staff and customers were on a daytrip to Raya Yai Island.
RAYA DIVERS RAYA YAI
On the island the dive crew was starting the diving activities of the day. when the Raya Divers Phuket crew had just arrived to spend the day there with 15 customers. Due to bad gsm connections on the island, warning calls didn’t reach the staff in time. Luckily the waves came in couple of rounds, and the most powerful wave was not the first one. The customers were taken up to the hill to where it was safe, and two persons who had been diving were evacuated to a boat right before the biggest wave came. When the big wave hit after a couple of minutes from the first one, there was only a couple of staff members in danger. They got swept under a strong mass of water, but were miraculously unhurt other than a few scratches and bruises as well as being underwater for over a minute.
The buildings on the beach were mostly light bamboo huts, and all of them were completely destroyed. Of the Raya Divers Diving School there was nothing left at all. Later we also discovered that all the diving equipment, teaching materials and tanks had been inside the school, and were now destroyed or lost in the sea.
Our other diving school on the other side of the island was completely undamaged, as well as the Ban Raya bungalow village. Ban Raya operated the next night as an evacuation centre for the rest of the people on the island and is currently open for business as well as our beach hut now being fully rebuilt and operating as normal again.
RAYA DIVERS KRABI
Our Krabi staff had been diving nearby Phi Phi islands with two different boats. They didn’t see waves at any point, only strong currents that made them stop the diving activities. Under the surface the visibility had turned to almost none, so the dive guides started to ascend and were picked up to the boats. Only after the day the Krabi team found out about the seriousness of the situation. Krabi and Ao Nang were lucky to receive only minor damages.
RAYA DIVERS KHAO LAK
Our Khao Lak staff was preparing to dive at the Similan islands with two different boats with over 50 customers when the waves hit. At the Similan islands there was no clear whitecap or breaker either, the mass of water just swept over Koh Miang (#4) and the returning wave brought all the movable property from the island with it to the sea, including all the tents. Luckily none of our group had yet made it to the water. After the sea transformed into boiling rapids, all the diving activities were cancelled. The day was spent unaware of the magnitude of the destruction that had really happened. Getting toward evening the boats returned to Khao Lak.
Returning to Khao Lak the seriousness of the situation became clear to everyone. That was when the real hell on earth began. The situation didn’t ease down before after many days, because of the total chaos on mainland. Most of our staff members had to do, experience and see things that no human being would ever want to face.
Khao Lak is absolutely the most destroyed of our sites. We also lost members of our staff: a secretary who had been at our office, and a Finnish snorkeling guide who had had a day off. Also our office was completely destroyed, even though it is located about one kilometer away from the sea in the mainland.
IN MEMORIAM, HANNU KESKITALO
In November 2004 Hannu walked into our head office in Phuket and asked if we need an honest & hard working worker who could do whatever there is to do. We asked if he would be interested to conduct snorkeling tours to the Similan Islands and that seemed to suit him fine.
He was in the water daily and all the customer had very positive feedback about his work. Especially the kids loved him and the parents always told us how excellent their day was since Hannu had taken care of the young ones during the excursions to Similan.
Sadly Hannu had three kids who came to spend the winter holidays with him in Thailand. During Christmas he had a few days off and we are not sure where exactly he was when the tsunami hit Khao Lak but Hannu and his children were lost forever. We will never forget this special guy who was always happy, full of energy and enjoying every minute of his life.
IN MEMORIAM, NAOWARAT “MOD” SUKHOM
We were looking for a new secretary for the winter 2004-5. Out of nowhere Mod walked into our office and said she needed a job. Unlike many Thais we’ve met she wasn’t shy at all and her happiness and smile made her very special, we hired her on that same day.
She was at the office daily taking care of the accounts, making reservations and was learning very quickly all the new tasks. We were very happy with her and all the foreign staff liked her a lot.
On the morning of 26th of December Mod had just arrived to work. The Tsunami destroyed our office completely and Mod disappeared. Sadly her mother and small baby were also nearby and all three of them lost their lives in this tragedy.
These deaths have caused us a lot of grief. We would also like to offer our condolences to all their relatives and friends.
CONCLUSION
Everyone who was here during those days will certainly carry the events in their minds for the rest of their lives. Some of us will have nightmares of these events throughout our lives. However, our lives have to go on. We are already looking firmly to the future and getting over this tragedy as good as we can.
We want to thank once more our staff members, who showed incredibly good team spirit, quick actions and courage in these extremely difficult situations. We are incredibly proud that we get to work with such a team!
During the December 26th 2004, Raya Divers had more than 120 people as customers. None of them was lost, or even seriously injured. Surely we believe that there was a lot of luck involved, but also our professional staff and their actions made it possible that more serious incidents did not take place.
PRESENT DAY & FUTURE
After a little shock we had in the beginning, we can now gladly state that the Andaman reefs and holiday destinations are as they used to be, and our diving activities have been continuing normally already since February 2005.
At the start, media did a lot of damage with false reports about dive sites and the state of beaches. Now we can only hope that they can also report the positive news, and doesn’t go merely for a hunt for sensations and disasters.
We also hope that all of YOU divers and holiday travelers remember that only about 2 % of Thailand’s beaches were destroyed. The rest is still there for you to use. We at Raya Divers, as well as the local Thai people, need you so that our lives and businesses here can continue.
Raya Divers experienced together with the sad human losses also great financial losses that after a better check rose even higher than we first assumed. However, we can continue our operation in Phuket, Krabi and Raya Yai Island. Khao Lak remained closed little longer but was also re-opened 1.11.2006.