Trauma lingers on for survivors of the deadly tsunami that hit Thailand 20 years ago
Associated PressBAN NAM KHEM, Thailand — The 20-year-old freshman student was still asleep that Sunday morning at the family’s house on the Andaman Sea coast of southern Thailand when her mom, sensing something wasn’t right, woke her up saying they needed to leave right away. The day is forever seared in Neungduangjai Sritrakarn’s memory: Dec. 26, 2004, the day the deadly Indian Ocean tsunami struck across South and Southeast Asia, after a 9.1 magnitude earthquake off the west coast of Indonesia’s Sumatra island. “When I returned to the village, I couldn’t recognize a single thing.. Everything was different.” Though tourists have little reason to notice them, reminders of the tragedy abound today in Phang Nga — signs showing an evacuation route, tsunami shelters near beach areas, several memorials and museums displaying wreckage and photos that tell the story of that day. Sanya Kongma, the assistant to Ban Nam Khem’s village chief, said development has come a long way, and that the quality of life in the village is good compared to 20 years ago.
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