Cameron Hunter: A ‘Lucky escape’ from destruction caused by Asian Tsunami
By: Amolika Thapliyal
Date: 15/02/19
It was the day after Christmas, 26th December 2004, boxing day, when Cameron Hunter and his family were relaxing on the beach of Bang Tao Phuket, Thailand. The shocking 9.0 Magnitude earthquake had struck Asia, causing one of the biggest Tsunamis the world has ever seen. At 9:30 am the first wave went out, and ten minutes after, there was panic reigning on the beach. The devastating series of events that follow, would have fazed any of us. But, for Mr.Hunter it allowed him to discover a new aspect of himself: his ability to stay rational and calm in the face of a crisis.
A regular day at the beach
Due to a Christmas party the night before at the resort, many of the guests were still sleeping in to recover. Mr.Hunter and his family had the beach almost entirely to themselves for this reason. His sons, Kyle and Callum, aged one and three years old at the time, were very excited to be at the beach. Mr.Hunter, however, a little tired from tending to the kids all morning, wanted to go windsurfing, but nobody was present at the rental renting stall. In retrospect, Mr.Hunter calmly says it was “probably good, as I wouldn’t be here today if I did (go windsurfing).”
The first wave
At 9:30 am, Mr.Hunter observed what would now be seen as a classic sign of a Tsunami. A wave rolled out far back, but he and his family did not think much of it. Rather, his children were intrigued by the pretty starfish and coral and went farther out into the ocean. However, Mr.Hunter soon realized something was not right. “The water was not ebbing or flowing. It was frothing. Very strange, I’ve never seen anything like that.”At this point, Mr.Hunter realized that he should start making his way towards the shore. However, the water then suddenly rose. “The water just went up to your neck height, but it wasn’t a massive wall of water. Everything just rose all at once.” Within a few minutes, people were yelling “There’s another wave coming!” At this point, they were 20 meters away from the shore, and locals were helping them get into the shore. “Both children had arm floaties on. And if they didn’t, it probably would’ve been devastating,” Mr.Hunter recalls, remembering how much both children were resisting putting the armbands on, and the disaster it would’ve caused if they didn’t.“My wife and I weren’t strong swimmers.” He recollected that his wife panicked and was extremely worried. “My wife handed me our other son. I had one child in each hand.” Surprisingly though, Mr.Hunter wasn’t gripped by fear. He continued to remain calm as he and his family were pulled onto shore. “I’m not really sure how we got to the shore. We just did.”
Reality Hits
Luckily, Mr.Hunter and his family only had to run about 200 meters to get to their resort, which was placed on top of a hill. “I didn’t think much of it. I just thought the whole thing was weird,” Mr.Hunter says, even saying he had time to pick up his camera. This shows that he did not panic even after being stranded in the waters for a while, showing his ability to stay calm. Just as they made their way to the resort, they “watched the second wave come in and devastate everything. Almost like in a movie.” Only when the hotel staff hurriedly asked guests to evacuate to higher ground, did Mr.Hunter realize that this was a serious disaster. “People with broken arms, makeshift hospitals. It was like a refugee camp.” Many people were eager to leave the location of destruction and tried to book flights as soon as possible. But, airports were shut down, hotels were booked, people were trapped. Although Mr.Hunter was shaken, he maintained his calm demeanor for his wife and children. He was sincerely grateful that neither his children or his wife were unharmed.
A few days later, information was released that the earthquake had been one of the deadliest natural disasters in history. With a shocking 9.0 Magnitude, it was the third strongest earthquake ever recorded. Many parts of Asia were affected, with the death toll at 227,898 people across 14 countries.
Perspective Matters
During our interview with Mr.Hunter, I found his approach towards the disaster to be rational, calm and to be quite positive. In fact, he went back to the same resort after a year. “What’s the chance of there being another 9.0 magnitude earthquake and Tsunami?” When I heard this, I was astounded. I certainly would never think of visiting the same area, let alone the same resort. He did not hold on to the bad things in the past. In fact, he refers to it, not as his ‘near death’ experience, rather, his ‘lucky escape’.
Whilst reflecting on the event, he came across an aspect of himself that he did not fully understand or recognize at the time. “I was surprised that I didn’t panic, but I’m still not sure why I didn’t.” He said, almost a little confused as to why he was unaffected by the disaster. However, he soon realized that he is “…calm under pressure. If there was a war, I think I’d be quite calm.” Many people would have been traumatized by being caught in one of the world’s worst natural disasters, but Mr.Hunter was quite the opposite.
Mr.Hunter’s optimism in times of danger and difficulty is admirable. His response towards the disaster can teach others to let go of negative experiences and continue to move forward.
“I thought it would change me in some way, but it didn’t. Life goes on.”
Images Cited:
- Bak, Michael. Street in Downtown Banda Aceh after 2004 Tsunami .