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The first tsunami waves hit Ao Nang, Thailand.
Foreign tourists far out on the sand after the water receded react as the first of six tsunami waves started to roll towards Hat Rai Lay Beach, near Krabi in southern Thailand.
A photo taken on January 5, 2005 of the devastated district of Banda Aceh on Indonesia's Sumatra island in the aftermath of the massive tsunami.
The same location as before, photographed on December 1, 2014.
A photo taken on January 9, 2005 of the impassable main coastal road covered with debris in Aceh Besar district, on Indonesia's Sumatra island, where surrounding houses and buildings were heavily damaged and coastal villages wiped out in the aftermath of the massive tsunami.
The same location as before, photographed on November 29, 2014, showing the new highway.
A partly damaged mosque in the Lampuuk coastal district of Banda Aceh.
The same location as above, photographed on December 1, 2014, showing the renovated mosque surrounded by new houses and rebuilt community.
An aerial shot taken from a US Navy Seahawk helicopter from carrier USS Abraham Lincoln shows devastation caused by the Indian Ocean tsunami in Banda Aceh, Indonesia.
A view of the same area of Lampuuk, prior to the ten year anniversary of the 2004 earthquake and tsunami on December 11, 2014.
All over Ton Sai Bay, the heart of Koh Phi Phi shops, restaurants and bungalows were totally wiped out on Phi Phi Island, Thailand.
A decade later, the same location.
The glowing names of tsunami victims at Aceh Tsunami Museum in Banda Aceh, Indonesia.
MafLoic
I'd be scared of building the same place even though I know the odds of something like that happening are really small.
Voltin32
I get knocked down, but I get up again...
loveallthebunnies
I can't believe that was ten years ago.
GladyMccree19
No need for "old" it was just the only building not made from woods and sheet metal in the area.
allansmithee
Now this is a before and after post that really impressed me. Good to see things are getting back to normal after this disaster.
ChristIHateThisWebsite
Did Ariel sign a release?
emiaf
It's really depressing knowing that those people in the first picture more than likely didn't survive...
sidvicious54
Life finds a way
misho
*uh uh
bagonja
The last picture gave me chills
JollyRogerette
I hate it when before and after pics don't line up perfectly
DenitoOoO
Maybe stupid question, but... Where did they put all the debris???
somepeoplecallmeyou
Tsunami museum is a great idea... i hope they have a ready expansion plans... that region is getting tsunamis regularly...
mintcranberry
"Fuck you , waves" - Mosque, probably
TheDon850
It's amazing how we pull together to help each other and rebuild after catastrophic events like this.
nonamejanie
It really is.
gondring
Many nations did *nothing*.
eroso
but the way how some companies saw e.g. the aftermath of Katrina as a business opportunity sickens me.
bigbrother
but then shit on our enemies with hellfire.
TheMajesticHarpyEagle
The duality of man.
HandsomeSwede
You really have to praise the efforts of the people of SE Asia who went out of their way to help the tourists.
cleverwittyusername
meanwhile, new orleans still looks like a war zone
goodguyC
Just got back from New Orleans....it'll look like 2005 in one neighborhood, and you walk two blocks down the road to find gorgeous mansions!
goodguyC
Maybe not mansion but like this http://www.nolahomes.net/wp-content/uploads/2012/11/Esplanade-Ave.-Historic-Home-in-New-Orleans-1024x785.jpg
RepublicofTexa
Id like to see the before, before pictures of the area pre tsunami
boopedyboop
Human resilience is amazing. The ability to pick yourself up and pull together in the face of adversity.
chickenfriedriceisdabomb
and then be dumb enough to rebuild everything in the same spot. Sucks for the people living there in a few centuries when it happens again.
MillenialJesus
Now do New Orleans post Katrina!
maliciousGman
Or Mississippi, where whole cities were wiped out.
iguessidontknowhowtospellimaganative
This.
vulgarismagistralis
Yes, please!
Garce
Shit down there is still fucked up. Why can't the US help America like it does the poor countries of the far east?
SilverioArambula
Because we obviously don't pay taxes to care for our country.
PleasantPeasantPheasant
Because it's really hard to admit you have a problem.
CoconutCyclone
Your ignorance is astounding. We spend a hell of a lot more money on ourselves than we do on foreign aid.
Sharpmarbles
The one problem that I see with all of this is that everything was built in the exact same place so it can all happen again someday.
alexicanz
its an island. it probably will happen again someday.
Sharpmarbles
And then people will say "oh what a tragedy" and then rebuild all over again. Rinse.....repeat...endless cycle.
Supanini
The way the mosque held up while everything else was destroyed. Wow
winkwinknudgenudge
Old religious buildings like temples, mosques, and cathedrals tend to be incredibly structurally sound.
polio69
No need for "old" it was just the only building not made from woods and sheet metal in the area.
AMediocreSubstituteForDave
They tend to be very well built.
wellthatwassilly
It bothers me that it's not parallel to the edges of the property
PleasantPeasantPheasant
You probably already know that that's because it's pointed towards Mekka, but I'm taking the liberty of pointing it out anyway.
JamEngulfer
Mecca
PleasantPeasantPheasant
Depends on where you're from, Arabic letters are completely different from ours, it's still pronounced the same.
JerkandEat
Makkah
goodguyC
Who here has seen The Impossible with Naomi Watts and Ewan McGregor?
Mahina
I just saw it yesterday!
duhpanduh
That movie really got me omg
thesarahpowellexperience
My dad went to Banda Aceh to help rebuild and generally help out. I was so proud of him. He brought back a small bit of debris.
hiimmat
Project Hope?
thesarahpowellexperience
I don't think so, he was a pastor so he gathered men from our church, got their flights paid for and went over.
thesarahpowellexperience
He passed away in 2012. I wish he could see these pictures of how it looks now, rebuilt.
StyleSavvyCupcak3
I watched a documentary about this that included testimony from survivors. I cried for almost the entire thing. At one point a man sat (1/2)
creatingthiswhileiamdruck
My Mum in law made us watch The Impossible on Christmas. I'm 9 mo preg. and had to leave the room many times to cry. Not a great holiday
ShanDar6
Was this on Netflix or Hulu? *fingers crossed*
StyleSavvyCupcak3
I watched it in parts on YouTube.
happygirl511
'The Impossible' is one that is based on the tsunami that made me clutch my pillow and cry like a baby.
StillNotYouTube
Not sure if it's the same thing, but I watched one on YouTube.
Bitcerto
Name?
StillNotYouTube
Tsunami - Caught on camera
StyleSavvyCupcak3
in the street and called out "I have no one left. God, why have you abandoned me?" (2/2)
AnnaExMachina
Holy shit, I remember that man.
StyleSavvyCupcak3
He's so very hard to forget.
sweatybeard
Oh god that picture of the people in the beach is fucking horrifying
eroso
They actually survived.
eroso
saucy sauce: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/4141733.stm
Krzyf
I believe it was made into a movie with ewan macgregor and Naomi watts
IamAlexander
I feel like the picture of all the names is more painful than the others
jeep44
My son was on a Navy ship then doing relief in the area. He especially remembers seeing floating dead elephants far out to sea.
Ohmyrowling
Oh how sad :( :(
PowayMermaid
How sad. :( I heard that alot of animals headed for higher ground as if they sensed something... until your comment I wanted to believe that
PleasantPeasantPheasant
The elephants most likely where work animals, not wild. Their keepers wouldn't allow them to get away from the danger.
CoconutCyclone
They're better off dead. SE Asia tends to abuse their elephants terribly.
DasZebra
i think all animals can exept humans can seens natural disasters, but everyone isnt fast enough,those elephants probably whasnt fast enough
Rezol
Both my aunts' entire families were in Khao Lak during this. They left for a trip to the mountains just half an hour before it happened.
Frankinbeijing
It is a quaint town
Rezol
When they realised what had happened the driver took them to the embassy. Noone there believed them until more people started coming in.
TheFrenchGirl
A collegue should have been in a hotel that were completly destroyed. He had to cancel one week before because of a major problem at work 1/
TheFrenchGirl
he was completly pissed at the time. I can't imagine what happened in his mind when he realised it saved his life. 2/2
10thDr
Trees be growing fast as hell
dunkaguru
i hope they got some apple or bananas on them
justanotherpoorcollegestudent
Yeah like how in the hell is there 30ft tall trees after 9 years.
Taindel
Of course they grew fast -- they had sufficient water.
capnkitkat
Maybe they imported them from Australia.
PeanutBuddha
In the tropics? Go figure.
SingingMeAndCthulioDownByRlyehFhtagn
These types catastrophic events tend to leave greatly increased growth in their wakes.
StickmanSham
Primary and secondary succession
Thenameideserved
Or maybe, just maybe, they were planted after being grown for years another place.
DeguRatface
I came down to the comments to see if anyone thought the same as me, and they did. That's insane.
Scorpioli
3nature5me
StickmanSham
crazy how nature make dat
buffalosouljaboymeetsworldstarhiphopanonymous
How neat is that??
StarrryNight
Bit too quickly if you ask me. ADD THESE TREES TO THE CONSPIRACY THEORY POST
thegameball
treespiracy
traumajunkie
Thats what happens when you water them
Roberttak
Ok. This was funny.
KiwiJesus
Nature finds a way.
UH60Mechanic
Oxygen rich... that means their spiders must be fucking huge.
TheDwarfCockMerchant
nah, its nothing compared to the spiders in down under
TwoDogsFucking
Those 7 people in the sand could not have survived.
andwhyisthecarpetallwetTodd
They didnt :( they've been identified
MitchBeaucannon
source?
PleasantPeasantPheasant
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/4141733.stm You'll be glad to know, You're wrong :)
andwhyisthecarpetallwetTodd
omg. that made me feel good. I've thought they were gone for so long. http://www.tsunamis.com/tsunami-pictures.html just found this! :)
dagmuffin
Yeah, they did, it was a lady from sweden who ran into the ocen to save her boys, the whole family on 4 survived
transcend
well technically, they could have.
icanc4
If the photographer, and his camera, did then they might have too.
MoodyOfNorway
It's so weird looking at presumably dead people when they're alive
massivepotatoes
on i slightly related note, Though the internet, i wonder how much death I've seen.
MoodyOfNorway
Don't go to /r/morbid reality
ItsDrP
Ahhhhh now I'm even more creeper out
FatForYou
How did the picture survive?
wandergeist
Couldn't believe that when I saw it. Living in the PNW, I long ago learned if the water goes out suddenly it's coming back with a vengence
soareyouchineseorjapanese
I know that the woman running to the waves survived. I think that's her family and they lived too. Crazy! Look it up
PleasantPeasantPheasant
I have no idea what to put into the search box, could you please post a link?
Americanada
Someone else posted this: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/4141733.stm
LittleQueenTrashMouth
Who the hell doesn't know about water receding before a tsunami?!
DVSBSTrD
Well we know that now.
dindl
I didn't before 2004 and neither did most of the tourists. Most of them came from countries where tsunamis weren't a threat.
StuieG
I wonder if it's possible to duck dive under a wave that large.
xxPaulCPxx
Although it first comes on like a wave - it's more like a flood. Imagine a 4' wave that doesn't recede... followed by another 4'... and...
StaringintotheSun
Thought about it too. Debris become very dangerous after the first wave I believe
dredmorbius
There were divers on the reef further out who survived the tsunami waves, but said the water currents were insane and dangerous. 1/
dredmorbius
While it /might/ be possible to dive under a tsunami wave, I'd consider survival a low-probability event. Those things were tossing navy 2/
dredmorbius
patrol boats further out. /end
dindl
They actually did, just like @soareyouchineseorjapanese said :) http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/4141733.stm
DasZebra
knew they was swedes, it was alot of swedes running too see the beach when it happend :/ one of the biggiest disasters for swedes seens 1/2
DasZebra
Estonia. we remember the ones that died in the tsunami every year, even the royal family attends to it.
dindl
I'm a Finn and yeah same thing here, even though we "only" lost 179 and you over 500. :( Estonia was horrible as well. Rip.
DasZebra
the sad thing is all the familys and friends crying for that their friend, son, daughter, mother or dad is now gone :(
WheezingAppleWannaBe
these are one of those moments where you wipe your brow and go "Whew" lol Cheers for the link
dindl
You're welcome :)
eddiebarzoon
What if they were really good swimmers?
Hewhowalksbehind
Debris/force of water would kill them
TheBoredHistorian
It's not the water that will (likely) kill them, it's the debris.
PitbullsPublicist
rubber is tougher than human skin.
Anenome
Nope, they get tossed around under the water, can't hold your breath while you're being pummeled by hitting into things, unable to surface.
Mypostswillneverreachthefrontpage
They lived and unless you take a hard hit to the chest or back you can easily hold your breath under this type of wave...
Mypostswillneverreachthefrontpage
Also, no debris if they were the first hit.
TwoDogsFucking
National Geographic: "Because tsunamis can approach the shore as fast as 100 miles per hour (160 kilometers per hour) it is often too...
TwoDogsFucking
...late to get away if you see one. An approaching tsunami is not something to be admired unless you are safely on high ground."
WhitePeoplePickles
how long does it take for a tsunami to appear after the waters have receded?
wandergeist
It moves faster than you can run. If you don't head for higher ground as soon as you see the water recede, you may not make it.
Misora
I've also always heard if you can see the wave you're not up high enough yet.
Anenome
Many minutes. They had time, they just didn't recognize the signs. If the ocean recedes, a tsunami is a real possibility.
contemplativeobserver
They clearly never saw Deep Impact.
AceofShades
I think more a long the lines of "Dude? why is the water fucking gone!" and then I'm running. I don't want to be around to find out
WhitePeoplePickles
what is the water level difference between low tide and water receding? significant? or it is just the fast change that people saw?
Anenome
In some cases people got caught by tsunamis trying to pick up the crabs and fish receding water left behind. Paid with their lives.
Anenome
The water will recede far below what normally is low tide. That's one way to know. Tourists might not have known what was unusual though.
WhitePeoplePickles
Thank you for sharing your wealth of knowledge with me.
authorannon
As someone who lives in an area expecting a devastating tsunami in the next decade, I know we have 15 minutes from when the earthquake hits
authorannon
until the first waves hit the beach.
werwerwere
Do you mind if I ask where that is? And what sort of alarm system is in place?
wandergeist
On the WA coast it is tied into http://wcatwc.arh.noaa.gov/ https://washingtondnr.files.wordpress">oaa.gov/">http://wcatwc.arh.noaa.gov/ https://washingtondnr.files.wordpress.com/2011/03/tsunami_hazard_sign_blue1.jpg
authorannon
also have an app on my phone that shows me the nearest evacuation centers and pushes even more emergency warnings onto my phone.
authorannon
there are speakers set up throughout the city. There are announcements made regularly (though in Japanese, so it's hard for me to catch). I
authorannon
I'm in Japan in a prefecture called Miyazaki on the southern island of Kyushu. We have emergency notifications pushed onto our phones and
werwerwere
Wow, that's amazing. They really do go to a lot of effort! Thanks :)
TwoDogsFucking
From National Geographic: "Many people were killed by the Indian Ocean tsunami because they went down to the beach to view the...
Anenome
It's surprising how often spectators to disasters get killed.
Nabashin
I know right! It's weird but my dad always taught me that if that happens... Run!
TwoDogsFucking
...retreating ocean exposing the seafloor. Apparently they were unaware that this phenomenon precedes a killer wave. Experts believe that...
TwoDogsFucking
...a receding ocean may give people as much as five minutes' warning to evacuate the area.
julgran
I guess a whole world learned that a receding water line is nothing to walk towards after this tragic day. I would run like hell!
nolanplant
Seems more credible when coming from username twoDogsFucking
Snooj
The most terrifying video I saw was a couple on holiday with their little kids, filming the whole time, including running from the waves 1-
Snooj
and yelling at each other to get the kids.
shawsheen72
We're they okay? I know that sounds stupid since there was a video... but someone could have gotten the camera or something.
Snooj
And if you need a good cry, just jump to 1:03:00.
Snooj
Yeah, they were interviewed in a documentary: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hOrSrM03aTc#t=29 You should *definitely* watch the whole 1-
Snooj
thing, but their part is at about 30:00 in. They're German and it's subbed, but it's almost more terrifying to hear a frantic 2-
Snooj
woman yelling in a foreign language and read "I can't take both kids!" Their video is woven around other footage. Just watch from the start.
shawsheen72
Thank you :3 no need for tears at one in the morning. ill watch it tomorrow!
dredmorbius
I think you posted the wrong video.
Snooj
Heh, that was still up from watching it the other day. Somehow grabbed the wrong tab.
Snooj
WRONG LINK IT'S THIS ONE: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qhjhTOkWeX0
alexicanz
the couple whose 5 year old daughter was ripped out of the mom's arms, that story just about killed me