- Title: "Tsunami: Race Against Time" marks the 20th anniversary of the tragedy
- Date: 18th November 2024
- Summary: UNIDENTIFIED LOCATION (NOVEMBER 14, 2024) (REUTERS) (SOUNDBITE) (English) SURVIVOR, RACHEL HEARSON, SAYING: “So, I was then swirling around in the water, trying to stay afloat. The last thing that I saw before I went under is two bungalows coming towards me. So, I went underwater. Had something very, very heavy on my head, which felt like a block of concrete. Tried to push it off me and couldn't. Held my breath for as long as I possibly could. And I thought 'This is it. I'm going to die'.”
- Embargoed: 2nd December 2024 13:29
- Keywords: National Geographic Tsunami Tsunami: Race Against Time
- Location: LONDON, ENGLAND, UNITED KINGDOM/VARIOUS
- City: LONDON, ENGLAND, UNITED KINGDOM/VARIOUS
- Country: UK
- Topics: Arts/Culture/Entertainment,Europe,Television
- Reuters ID: LVA004950513112024RP1
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text: EDITORS, PLEASE NOTE THIS EDIT CONTAINS MATERIAL THAT WAS ORIGINALLY 4:3
Twenty years on from the devastating 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami, new docuseries "Tsunami: Race Against Time" looks back at the natural disaster that killed more than 230,000 people in Indonesia, Sri Lanka, India, Thailand and nine other countries.
The four-part series, directed by Daniel Bogado focuses on stories from survivors and those who witnessed the tragedy that happened on Sunday December 26, 2004.
Rachel Hearson, who was on holiday in Koh Phi Phi in Thailand at the time and survived the tsunami with her husband, told Reuters she found herself ''swirling around in the water, trying to stay afloat" when disaster struck.
''The last thing that I saw before I went under is two bungalows coming towards me,” she said.
“I went underwater, had something very, very heavy on my head… I held my breath for as long as I possibly could. I thought 'This is it. I'm going to die,” she said.
Also featured in the documentary is Louis Mullan, who was 16 years old back in 2004 and also on holiday in Thailand with his family. But while he and his younger brother Theo survived, his parents were both killed.
Tsunami waves were triggered by a 9.1 magnitude quake off the coast of Indonesia's Aceh province with waves rearing up into walls of water, as high as 17.4 meters (57 feet). Some communities were wiped off the map in seconds.
Director Daniel Bogado said many of the researchers who worked on the series were personally involved.
“They were themselves survivors of the tsunami. They lost members (of their families) to the tsunami,” he said.
''They're doing something that they feel proud of, that can serve as a memorial to the lives that were lost, and they can educate people about the dangers of the tsunami.”
"Tsunami: Race Against Time" premieres on National Geographic and Disney+ on November 25.
(Production: Ben Makori, Natasha Mulenga) - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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