www.nypost.com/news/worldnews/37579.htm
Reprint January 1, 2005 -- PHUKET, Thailand - Quick-thinking 10-year-old Tilly Sm ith is being hailed as a hero after saving her parents and dozens of fel low vacationers from the deadly tsunami - thanks to a school geography l esson. Tilly warned the doubting adults at a resort that a massive tidal wave wa s about to strike - just minutes before the deadly tide rushed in and tu rned the resort into rubble. Tilly's family, from Surrey, England, was e njoying a day at Maikhao Beach last Sunday when the sea rushed out and b egan to bubble. The adults didn't understand until Tilly added the magic words: "A tidal wave." Within seconds, the beach was deserted and it turned out to be one of the only places along the shores of Phuke t where no one was killed or seriously injured. "I think it's phenomenal that Tilly's parents and the others on the beach are alive because she studied hard at school," said Craig Smith, the Am erican manager of the JW Marriott Hotel where Tilly's family was staying . He said a tsunami is not like you see in the movies, where a huge wave we lls up on the horizon and can be seen for miles off shore. Tilly shrugged off the attention and modestly said, "Last term, my geogra phy teacher, Mr Kearney, taught us about earthquakes and how they can c ause tsunamis. "I recognized what was happening and had a feeling there was going to be a tsunami." Her mother, Penny Smith, 43, recalled how their family, including Tilly's father Colin, 46, and 7-year-old younger sister, Holly, were enjoying a Christmas vacation before tragedy struck. "When the water went back, I was like most people on the beach. I wanted to walk down and look at what was going on," she recalled. "It was only when Tilly explained what she thought was going to happen that I had sec ond thoughts. "We ran off the beach as fast as we could and went to the first floor of the hotel where it would be safe. Minutes later the water surged right o ver the beach and demolished everything in its path.
|