PHANGNGA, Dec 26 (TNA) – Twenty years after the devastating 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami, survivors in Thailand’s worst-hit Baan Nam Khem village still vividly remember the disaster while expressing confidence in the government’s current warning systems.
The tsunami, triggered by a 9.0-magnitude earthquake off the northwest coast of Indonesia’s Sumatra island on December 26, 2004, claimed thousands of lives and caused massive destruction along Thailand’s Andaman Sea coast, with Phang Nga province bearing the brunt of the impact.
“I lost five family members that day,” recalls Samran Sangkarak, a local fisherman who was at sea near Koh Pha when the waves hit.
“I survived because my boat didn’t sink, but I watched as other vessels returning to shore were swallowed by the waves.”
When he finally made it back, he found his home destroyed and his family missing, later locating his wife and children at Takua Pa Hospital.
Two decades on, the fishing community has largely recovered, with some residents relocating and switching to different occupations. Sangkarak says locals now trust the warning systems and regular evacuation drills conducted by authorities, with designated safety zones established at Nam Khem Temple, Nam Khem School, and purpose-built evacuation buildings.
The 20th anniversary commemorations will be held today (Dec26) at five locations across the area, including the Buresriphadungkit patrol boat site, the Ban Nam Khem Tsunami Memorial, the Ban Nam Khem Tsunami Museum, Khao Lak Marriott Beach Resort and Spa, Ban Bang Maruan Tsunami Victim Cemetery Area.
The main ceremony at Baan Nam Khem, the village that suffered the heaviest casualties, will feature interfaith services across three religions and exhibitions showcasing disaster management progress.
The Department of Disaster Prevention and Mitigation will use the occasion to demonstrate improvements in tsunami monitoring and warning systems, reaffirming its commitment alongside various stakeholders to maintaining unified and systematic emergency response protocols. -819 (TNA)
