‘The generosity was remarkable’: remembering the Boxing Day Tsunami twenty years on

The head of World Vision Australia has shared his devastating memories of the “profound devastation” caused by the Boxing Day Tsunami on the eve of the anniversary of one of the world’s worst disasters.

Debris is strewn across the street at Patong Beach in the wake of the Boxing Day tsunami in 2004.

Daniel Wordsworth vividly remembers the moment he touched down in what had until days prior been a tropical paradise.

“It was profound devastation,” he said.

“For literally miles and miles.”

Mr Wordsworth, an aid worker, landed in Sri Lanka just after the 2004 Boxing Day tsunami ravaged the island nation, killing more than 35,000 people out of a global death toll of about 230,000.

One of the images imprinted in his memory is the sight of palm trees, for so many a symbol of an island getaway, standing tall amid the destruction.

“Whole expanses where there were communities, the palm trees stayed, but everything else was wiped out,” he said.

Daniel Wordsworth in Thailand after the 2004 Boxing Day tsunami. Picture: Supplied

“When you stopped at these villages you saw mums and dads sorting their way through the rubbish, trying to find either loved ones or their possessions, you saw kids milling about.

“It was just chaos, confusion and deep sadness.”

With ten years’ humanitarian experience already under his belt, Mr Wordsworth knew how to respond to a disaster, but said the biggest challenge was getting to the worst affected places to stop more people dying.

Mr Wordsworth was one of the first aid workers to arrive at the Queen of the Seas train wreck, where as many as 1700 people were killed. Picture: Phil Hillyard

The man who began his career in the Royal Australian Navy said the Queen of the Seas train wreck was one of the most confronting things he remembered.

The jam-packed train was running along the island’s southwest coast when it was wiped out by the tsunami, killing an estimated 1700 people on board in what remains the deadliest train disaster in history.

The global death toll of the tsunami was about 230,000 people. Picture: AP

When Mr Wordsworth arrived a few days later, the army was still pulling corpses from the train’s mangled carriages.

“You think the most impactful thing will be the death that’s there, but actually it’s the ones that survive trying to find their loved ones, and just being caught up in despair and mourning,” he said.

Indonesia was worst hit by the tsunami, with about 165000 people dying there.

Mr Wordsworth said the destruction in the worst-hit Aceh region reminded him of pictures of Hiroshima after the atomic bomb.

He is now based in Melbourne as chief executive of World Vision Australia, a Christian charity which was heavily involved in the relief efforts.

The tsunami remains the largest humanitarian relief response in World Vision’s history. Picture: Hellmut Issels

The tsunami remains the largest humanitarian relief response in World Vision’s history.

The charity raised more than $500m and helped more than 1 million people rebuild their lives.

Mr Wordsworth’s softly spoken demeanour belies over 30 years of working to help people struck by war, famine and everything in between.

The tsunami remains the largest humanitarian relief response in World Vision’s history.

A self-described “reluctant optimist”, he said one good thing to come from the tsunami was establishing a blueprint for how to respond to disasters which is followed to this day.

“What improved was how aid agencies co-ordinate with each other,” he said.

“You had everything from the most basic nutrition care, to large scale bridge reconstruction, to providing small loans to mothers as they try to become economic actors in their own family.

“In order to do that over in multiple countries at one time, everybody had to co-ordinate so much better.”

A boat is washed on to rocks along the coast south of Colombo.

The disaster struck a particular chord in Australia, with the public donating an estimated $350m to relief efforts.

A total of 26 Australians lost their lives, including Melbourne footy player Troy Broadbridge who was on his honeymoon with wife Trisha, who survived.

Mr Wordsworth is now based in Melbourne as chief executive of World Vision Australia. Picture: Tony Gough

Mr Wordsworth said he thought something about this disaster in particular resonated with Australians.

“The generosity that poured out was remarkable,” he said.

“For Australians, we knew Thailand, our cricketers knew Sri Lanka, Indonesia is a really close neighbour for us.

“I think (the region) means a lot to us (and) this was our Band Aid moment.”