THAILAND: Eleven-year-old tsunami heroine, Tilly Smith, from Britain, who is credited with saving the lives of 100 people on a beach when she warned of signs of the impeding tsunami in 2004, has returned to Thailand for the first anniversary of the disa

Record ID: 312220

  • Title: THAILAND: Eleven-year-old tsunami heroine, Tilly Smith, from Britain, who is credited with saving the lives of 100 people on a beach when she warned of signs of the impeding tsunami in 2004, has returned to Thailand for the first anniversary of the disa
  • Date: 25th December 2005
  • Summary: WIDE OF TILLY WITH MOTHER PENNY AND FATHER COLIN SMITH
  • Embargoed: 9th January 2006 12:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Thailand
  • Country: Thailand
  • Topics: Disasters / Accidents / Natural catastrophes
  • Reuters ID: LVA94307J1STSZYEHK8RXZEORV30
  • Story Text: British tsunami hero, 11-year-old Tilly Smith, says she is happy to return to the tsunami-ravaged beaches of Thailand one year after she saved hundreds of lives by warning people about the impending disaster.
    Speaking at a news conference in Phuket on Sunday (December 25), Tilly said she was proud of the role she played in saving lives and thankful that she had learned about tsunamis in school.
    "I'm very proud that I was able to stay on the beach and people listened to me - 'I know that there's a tsunami coming'. So, you know, I learnt that," she said as her parents, Penny and Colin Smith looked on.
    Tilly was strolling along Mai Khao beach last Boxing Day with her parents and seven-year-old sister when she noticed the seawater bubbling and quickly receding into the distance. She immediately told her parents a tsunami was coming after learning that these signs signal an on-coming wave in a geography class.
    While her parents were initially reluctant to act, Tilly's insistence forced them to alert other tourists and hotel staff.
    Tilly, who was 10 years old at the time, has since been credited with saving the lives of about 100 people and has since been invited to go to the United Nations headquarters in New York, where she met former U.S. President Bill Clinton, who is the U.N.'s Special Envoy for the Tsunami Recovery.
    It is the first time the Smiths, who live in Oxshott, Surrey in London, have returned to Thailand since the tragedy.
    Tilly said that she was worried about coming back but has since enjoyed her visit.
    "It wasn't bad but I got used to it. The first day was quite, coming back was quite rough, but it's nice to come back again," she said.
    The Smiths have been invited by the Thai government to attend a memorial service marking the one-year anniversary of the disaster, which killed 5395 people in Thailand.
    Tilly will read a poem during the commemoration on Monday (December 26) as a numbers of memorial services are held throughout the six provinces hit by the tsunami.
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