'Where's all this water coming from?'
Family with local ties caught in path of deadly tsunami
By Mary Anderson
Staff Writer, The Courier-Tribune
ASHEBORO - "The Halls are all OK."
That email from a stranger at 4 p.m. on Dec. 30 was the message Sue Routh
and her family had been waiting for. Her brother, Tim Hall, and his family
had met in Thailand for a family vacation and were at a resort on the Andaman
Sea when the tsunami hit.
Miraculously, the Halls hardly had a scratch, but the emotional impact
was devastating.
Back home in Slovenia, Kristy Hall touched on the devastating aftermath
in an email:
"The thing is, I can tell you what I saw, but I can't show you the
look in people's eyes when they were searching for their loved ones. I keep
wondering about the young mother being led around by two other people, stunned
and unable to move because she didn't know where her kids were? Did she
find them? Were they OK?
"Who was the man who rode the scooter up the hill and yelled frantically
for Veronica? Did he find her?
"Who were the dead faces on the bulletin boards with no one to claim
them? What about those two children I saw being led into the embassy offices
by volunteers?
"To say the least, I'm disturbed. I'm so thankful that my family
is in one piece, and at the same time so bothered by what I saw. This is
going to take me awhile ..."
Kristy is the wife of the Tim and Karen's older son, Timothy, a UNC Chapel
Hill graduate and, like his dad, a teacher for QSI, an international faculty
organization. They are the parents of 14-month-old Clay, the Halls' only
grandchild.
Tim Hall, whose parents, Rayborn and Allene Hall live in Asheboro, has
lived and taught school for QSI in eastern Europe and Asia for the past
10 years. The Halls took the overseas assignment after Tim retired from
Montgomery County Schools. The younger son, Jeremy, graduated last year
from Montgomery Community College before he joined his parents in China.
Their daughter, Christina, is the only family member living in the states.
Christina accepted a position at a church in Chapel Hill receiving her master's
degree from UNC Chapel Hill.
Karen is only a disertation away from her PhD.
"We prayed and waited on pins and needles for word from them,"
said Sue Routh. "We were anxious to hear from them, but we anticipated
that they would be all right We don't come from a doubting family."
Their survival of the tsunami is a miracle. On Dec. 31, Karen Hall, Tim's
wife, emailed the story of their ordeal to family members.
The trip, which had been planned for a year, was for Tim, Karen and younger
son, Jeremy, to meet Timothy, Kristy and Clay in Ao Nang, Thailand, on Dec.
12. Christina would join them on Dec. 18.
The family spent an idyllic week at the Peach Hill Resort on Kata Beach,
then traveled to Koh Lanta, where they were disappointed with the location
and the beach. The women all had an uneasy feeling about the location, so
they went to to Ocean View Resort, a little further north on a different
beach. The original resort was hit much harder when the tsunami came.
The new place was perfect. The Halls exchanged gifts and sang carols
on Christmas. Karen, Tim, and Christina walked on the beach on Sunday morning,
Dec. 26, and would have a church service that afternoon.
Karen writes: "Suddenly, we heard what sounded like a party going
on outside - people were hollering and with a loud noise in the background.
"Jeremy went to the window to see what was happening and shouted,
'Oh my goodness! Where's all this water coming from? Christina, come and
look at all this water!' We raced to the window and couldn't believe what
we were seeing. Water was coming up around the buildings and pushing up
wherever it could. I kept thinking that a dam must have broken somewhere,
but this was the ocean, there were no dams here. I did not know that Tim
was in the next room and had run out barefooted to try to get to Timothy,
Kristy, and Clay.
"I ran to my room, grabbed the bag that held our passports and started
down the stairs with the kids. As we got to the hotel lobby, people were
coming inside with bad cuts and bruises. Christina and I turned around and
flew back to our rooms to get towels and anything that could be used for
antiseptic - all she had was a small bottle of Listerine and we grabbed
all the bottled water that we saw. I threw my bag down so that I could grab
more towels. In the reception area we started to work on the injured, but
the hotel manager and his family were saying that we must get out - We must
go higher. At this point I saw Tim across the drive at Timothy's bungalow,
calling for Timothy...
Karen and Christina yelled for Tim to go higher, which he did after he
saw that Timothy was safe across the road.
"... We followed along across the road and up the hill to a higher
place, crossing over barbed wire fences and dirt paths until we came to
a small local house where some Thai men were sitting on the porch staring
at the sea.
"A Swedish lady (I wish I knew her name - I'll call her Helga) and
her husband had gathered with other people. She seemed to know some first
aid. With what we had, we began to try to help those with injuries ...
Christina had heard another group was higher on the mountain and went
to look for Timothy, Kristy, and Clay. She returned with a first aid kit
that a German man had given to her. This kit became invaluable, as it was
their only source of bandages, etc.
"... In a few minutes three older people from the UK (United Kingdom)
joined us ... The oldest lady, 72, was injured the most seriously with cuts
and bruises everywhere. They were eating at the small restaurant when the
first wave hit. It felt like they were being pulled out to sea, but the
Thai father and son who owned the restaurant held them and wouldn't let
go. They were still trying to recover when the second, larger wave hit.
This time the restaurant collapsed on them and the older lady was under
the water and couldn't get up ...
"We had to get her warm. She was going into shock. I ran into the
small house and started looking for anything that would be dry, then I remembered
the emergency kit. I found three emergency blankets. We wrapped her in one
...
"The next to arrive at our small camp was the father and son who
had saved the British folks from being washed out to sea. They were seriously
hurt, and the father was unconscious. A small pickup arrived, and the father
was taken away. Jeremy said that he was breathing when they placed him in
the truck.
"We worked with the son and covered him with a blanket. We knew
he needed a dry shirt to help him warm up to prevent shock. I went to the
men on the porch and gestured for a dry shirt, but they could not respond.
"I looked around for a dry shirt, and my eyes landed on Jeremy.
He was wearing a favorite shirt from home with the logo 'Asheboro Blue Comet
Football.' This was Tim's alma mater. I asked Jeremy for his shirt. Without
hesitating, he stripped it off, and we put it on the young man ...
"I'm not sure how long we worked washing and bandaging wounds, giving
water, comforting, and touching the injured. I'll never forget the wounds
because most were filled with sand pebbles."
Later, family members gathered higher up the mountain.
Karen writes: "Throughout the day reports would come that another
wave had hit Phi Phi and would soon be here. Our eyes watched the water.
People would ride up on motorcycles or in pickups and holler out names of
people they were looking for. Twice big pots of cooked rice and eggs were
brought up along with more water. The food was good, but we ate very little
...
"... All night bonfires were lit at various locations. I envied
people their ability to lie down on the cold damp ground and sleep. There
was a beautiful full moon.
"One man had been to the hospital with his son to get his hands
stitched
together. He told us how they rode in the back of a small truck with other
injured people, one of which died on the way. At the hospital one doctor
was on duty. The living were sitting among the dead and dying. During the
night he broke down and wept for a long time.
"The Hall family was truly blessed and miraculously protected. Just
the fact that we had clothes on and not our swimsuits was a wonderful blessing.
"Finally morning came, and we made our way back to our resort. The
owner and his family were walking around in a daze, but still trying to
help and answer our questions. There was no water, but electricity was on
in some places. It was pretty obvious that they didn't need to be caring
for us when they were trying to figure out how to put their lives back together.
"Many foreigners were trying to leave. We were making arrangements
to leave when a warning came that another wave was coming. Everyone in the
hotel started heading for the mountain again, and we were left to find our
own way off the island."
A Thai man and wife in a small pickup truck took the family on a four-hour
trip to a hotel in Krabi Town on the mainland.
"... We entered this humble Thai hotel and were thankful for hot
water, clean beds, and each other ... We watched the pictures of devastation
on the Thai television stations and realized again how blessed we were.
The trauma started to set in as I realized that I was afraid to leave the
room and go outside. I prayed that in the morning I would feel different.
As a family, we prayed together and thanked our Heavenly Father for His
protection.
"The next morning, 28 Dec., a mini-van took us take us to Phuket
... At the Phuket City Hall, pictures of missing people and people in hospitals
were posted. Free food and clothing were being given out ... a building
housed personnel for 50 embassies.
"... One man was just sitting, staring ahead. He looked like he'd
cried until he couldn't cry any more. You began to get a feel for the ones
who had lost their friends or family members. You could see it in their
faces, and they avoided eye contact.
"That evening we were walking to a restaurant, and we remembered
that it was Kristy's birthday.
"... What we saw and experienced, the little we were able to do
to help, touch, and comfort was a very small part in this great event that
has rocked our world. We agreed that we were not sad about being in Thailand.
This country and the people are wonderful, and we were thankful to be of
some service during this time."
Copyright 2002, Stephens Media Group
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