Congratulations on your education of this girl.

Earl

****


Girl saved tourists thanks to school lesson


Mon Jan 3,12:18 AM ET

LONDON (Reuters) - A 10-year-old British girl saved 100 other tourists from
the Asian tsunami having warned them a giant mass of water was on its way
after learning about the phenomenon weeks earlier at school.

"I was on the beach and the water started to go funny," Tilly Smith told the
Sun at the weekend from Phuket, Thailand.

"There were bubbles and the tide went out all of a sudden. I recognised what
was happening and had a feeling there was going to be a tsunami. I told
mummy."

While other holidaymakers stood and stared as the disappearing waters left
boats and fish stranded on the sands, Tilly recognised the danger signs
because she had done a school project on giant waves caused by underwater
earthquakes.

Quick action by Tilly's mother and Thai hotel staff meant Maikhao beach was
quickly cleared, just minutes before a huge wave crashed ashore. The beach
was one of the few on the Thai island of Phuket where no-one was killed.

Her teacher, Andrew Kearney, paid tribute to his quick-thinking student.

"Tilly is a very bright, level-headed girl ... it is an incredible
coincidence that our class were learning about this type of tsunami just two
weeks before Christmas," he told the newspaper.

On Sunday, the Foreign Office said 40 Britons were confirmed dead from the
December 26 tsunami which claimed some 130,000 victims. The toll is expected
to rise.

Earl Evleth wrote:
    > Congratulations on your education of this girl.
    >
    > Earl
    >
    > ****
    >
    >
    > Girl saved tourists thanks to school lesson
    >
    >
    > Mon Jan 3,12:18 AM ET
    >
    > LONDON (Reuters) - A 10-year-old British girl saved 100 other tourists from
    > the Asian tsunami having warned them a giant mass of water was on its way
    > after learning about the phenomenon weeks earlier at school.
    >
    > "I was on the beach and the water started to go funny," Tilly Smith told the
    > Sun at the weekend from Phuket, Thailand.
    >
    > "There were bubbles and the tide went out all of a sudden. I recognised what
    > was happening and had a feeling there was going to be a tsunami. I told
    > mummy."
    >
    > While other holidaymakers stood and stared as the disappearing waters left
    > boats and fish stranded on the sands, Tilly recognised the danger signs
    > because she had done a school project on giant waves caused by underwater
    > earthquakes.
    >
    > Quick action by Tilly's mother and Thai hotel staff meant Maikhao beach was
    > quickly cleared, just minutes before a huge wave crashed ashore. The beach
    > was one of the few on the Thai island of Phuket where no-one was killed.
    >
    > Her teacher, Andrew Kearney, paid tribute to his quick-thinking student.
    >
    > "Tilly is a very bright, level-headed girl ... it is an incredible
    > coincidence that our class were learning about this type of tsunami just two
    > weeks before Christmas," he told the newspaper.
    >
    > On Sunday, the Foreign Office said 40 Britons were confirmed dead from the
    > December 26 tsunami which claimed some 130,000 victims. The toll is expected
    > to rise.

Bright girl! The latest revised figures published today are 199 British
travellers missing believed killed.

On Mon, 03 Jan 2005 17:25:36 +0100, Earl Evleth <[email protected]> wrote:

    > Congratulations on your education of this girl.
    > Earl
    > ****
    > Girl saved tourists thanks to school lesson
    > Mon Jan 3,12:18 AM ET
    > LONDON (Reuters) - A 10-year-old British girl saved 100 other tourists
    > from
    > the Asian tsunami having warned them a giant mass of water was on its way
    > after learning about the phenomenon weeks earlier at school.
    > "I was on the beach and the water started to go funny," Tilly Smith told
    > the
    > Sun at the weekend from Phuket, Thailand.
    > "There were bubbles and the tide went out all of a sudden. I recognised
    > what
    > was happening and had a feeling there was going to be a tsunami. I told
    > mummy."
    > While other holidaymakers stood and stared as the disappearing waters
    > left
    > boats and fish stranded on the sands, Tilly recognised the danger signs
    > because she had done a school project on giant waves caused by underwater
    > earthquakes.
    > [snip]

I saw video of tourists staring at the receding water before the tsunami,
and I was almost yelling "Get the hell out of there!" at the TV. When I
was a little kid I knew that if you're at the beach and it looks like the
tide goes out really fast, you need to run to higher ground (literally,
run - that's what they tell you in school).

Then again, I've lived in earthquake and/or tsunami-prone areas most of my
life, and that's not true for a lot of people.

===
Steve
Shoreline, Washington USA
[email protected]
3 Jan 2005, 2222 PST