Survivor of Boxing Day tsunami recounts horror on 20th anniversary of disaster
On Boxing Day in 2004, a young Australian was having the time of her life on a dream Thailand holiday. Then, the unthinkable happened.
For most people, the idea of a holiday in Thailand conjures up images of delicious food, relaxing swims and endless sunshine.
But for Lizz Hills, it is a place where she has narrowly avoided death. Not once, but twice.
She has not dared return a third time.
As she touched down in Phuket on Christmas Eve back in 2004, she recalls feeling mixed emotions.
The last time she had been in the country was earlier that year, when just 48 hours into her trip she fell from a train and suffered a traumatic head fracture, as well as breaking more than 30 bones in the process.
Coming back to Australia after a gruelling six-week recovery, Lizz fell into a dark depressive spiral after doctors told her she would never be able to live a ‘normal’ life due to the extent of her injuries.
They said she would never go to university, have a career or be a mother. Three things she desperately wanted.
In a bid to reclaim her life, her father Dan Martin suggested the pair return to Thailand as part of her healing process.
Sadly, they had no idea of the horror of what was to come.
“I had first gone to Thailand on a solo trip for my 21st birthday,” the now 41-year-old mum told news.com.au.
“Just two days in, I fell off a train, fractured my skull and broke 30 bones. I didn’t have a phone so I couldn’t tell my family what had happened.
“They eventually figured it out when I didn’t arrive back at the airport when I was supposed to. When I came home, the doctors basically told me that my life was over.
“That was the catalyst for me going back to Thailand. It was meant to be a way for me to heal.
“I had no idea it was going to change my life forever.”
Chilling sign
Spending a relaxing Christmas together on the beach, the father and daughter got up bright and early on Boxing Day to go scuba diving on the Similan Islands.
As they began exploring what was meant to be a thriving bit of ocean full of colourful marine life, they noticed something incredibly strange.
There was no fish. Not even one.
In fact, there did not seem to be anything interesting at this diving spot at all.
Thinking the tour operators purposely took them to a “dud reef” they decided to hop back on the boat and give them a piece of their minds.
But before they had a chance to open their mouths, something horrifying happened.
The sea started boiling.
“It was the day after Christmas and we were excited to go scuba diving,” she said.
“We had been at a spot earlier that morning and it was gorgeous. Then we went to another spot and it was totally dead.
“There were no fish, no animals at all actually for what looked like miles. We thought they had taken us to a dud reef.
“We decided to go back up onto the boat and give them a piece of our minds.”
The father and daughter had no idea that this would actually be the thing that would save their lives.
‘The sea started boiling’
As they climbed back on board and began taking off their scuba gear, the unthinkable happened.
“The sea began boiling. The water was bubbling like crazy,” she recalled.
“I thought it was something with the boat, but when I looked it was everywhere, all around us.
“Then, the boat began being dragged underwater. It was terrifying.”
Thankfully, a worker on the ship had the presence of mind to quickly cut the rope attached to the anchor and take the boat out to deeper water.
Tragically, as the sea began bubbling and swirling, not everyone in their group made it back on board.
While the boat went out with 16 divers, only 10 made it back.
With nobody on the boat having any idea what was going on, a stream of terrifying theories began to swirl among the group.
It would be another four hours before they discovered the grisly truth: there has been a tsunami.
While Lizz did not fully understand the extent of the devastation at the time, she knew it was dire.
“The not knowing what was happening was the worst,” she said.
“Some people said it had been a US bombing, others said that World War 3 had broken out.
“It wasn’t until we were picked up by a Thai navy boat that we knew there had been a tsunami.
“People were scared. Everyone was saying there was going to be a second one.”
Death and devastation
As the sun started to set in Phuket, the navy boat slowly made its way back to shore and Lizz first witnessed the true horror of what had unfolded.
She recalls being confronted by the total carnage of dead bodies, destroyed property and washed up boats as far as the eye could see.
“There was a lot of death, a lot of body bags and a lot of hurt people,” she said.
“Everything was destroyed and huge boats were totally washed up ashore.
“It really impacted me. I wouldn’t wish it upon anyone.”
As foreigners, Lizz and her father were rounded up with other tourists and placed into emergency accommodation, which was inside a nearby Buddhist temple.
However, things quickly took another terrifying turn.
“We were all huddled on top of this temple, seeking shelter as we figured out what to do next,” she said.
“Dad had just left to go look for somewhere to charge his phone. He was one of the only people with a mobile at the time.
“A few minutes after he left, a huge army tanker rolled by. It was very noisy and everything was shaking.
“I think that is what it must have sounded like when the first wave came. In that moment, a huge stampede broke out, people were panicking.
“I ended up getting thrown down a flight of stairs and had cuts and grazes all over me. I remember just screaming for my dad.
“We eventually found each other, but for those 15 minutes or so that I lost him it was awful, he was my only anchor in the world for that moment.”
The dad and daughter decided to go to another shelter that was filled with locals, who welcomed them with open arms.
Interestingly, Lizz said she noticed a vast difference in the behaviour of the tourists compared to the Thai people in the aftermath of the disaster.
“Some of the other foreigners I’d encountered were so distraught about losing their luggage and having their holidays ruined,” she said.
“Of course, some had it a lot worse but many were just upset about their things being destroyed.
“The Thai people were so kind and welcoming. They had lost everything, their loved ones, their homes.
“Yet they were doing everything they could to help us. It was incredible.”
In the middle of the chaos, Lizz managed to call her mother back home and let her know they were still alive.
Fortunately, the pair had brought their passports and an emergency credit card with them on the dive boat.
Within 48 hours, they were able to find their way to the airport and booked the next flight out of Thailand, which was to Malaysia.
They then made their way back to Singapore, where Dan was based, and Lizz returned home to Australia.
‘You choose how to live’
It took a good six months for Lizz to begin to return to normal life as she struggled to deal with the trauma of the disaster.
It was not until earlier this year that she truly began to talk about what had happened in the wake of the 20th anniversary of the Boxing Day tsunami.
Lizz appeared on the ABC’s I Was Actually There program along with other tsunami survivors to discuss her experiences.
While she was told she would never be able to return to university after her accident, she has since completed two degrees and is finishing her Masters.
She now works in environmental education to help people connect with nature and last year, walked across Australia helping to raise funds for the Wild Mountains Environmental Education Centre.
Lizz has also written a book, Stars Linger, that details her early adult life, surviving the tsunami and passion for the environment.
Remarkably, despite doctors telling her she would never have children, Lizz is the proud mother of a “beautiful and bright” 12-year-old boy, Rowan, with the love of her of life, Justin Hills, who she met just before the tsunami and who has been by her side ever since.
Now on the 20th anniversary, Lizz wants to spread one simple message: be kind.
“I really can’t believe it’s been 20 years. It feels like yesterday,” she said.
“From the disaster, I saw how important it is to be kind. The kindness shown to us by the Thai locals is something I’ll never forget.
“You don’t need to know someone to be kind, you don’t even need to speak the same language.”
Sadly, she has never been scuba diving again, or been back to Thailand.
“I have narrowly escaped death twice in that country, so I don’t think my family is too keen on me going back,” she said.
“There is so much more of the world I’d like to see.
“I have never been scuba diving again. It does make me sad, as it’s such an incredible feeling.
“Who knows, maybe one day I’ll get back to it.”
Boxing Day tsunami
Just before 8am on December 26, 2004, a massive 9.3 scale earthquake struck off the west coast of Sumatra in northern Indonesia.
It hit 240km from the coast and 49km below the ocean floor and is estimated to have released energy equivalent to 23,000 Hiroshima-type atomic bombs.
As a result, a huge tsunami was triggered with waves up to 30 metres high, devastating communities along the surrounding coasts of the Indian Ocean.
It killed an estimated 227,898 people in 14 countries, with the hardest hit locations being in Indonesia, Thailand, Sri Lanka, India and the Maldives.
Thousands of overseas tourists were killed in the disaster, including 26 Australians.
jasmine.kazlauskas@news.com.au
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