RIP to all the people in these photos it's pretty certain none survived being that close to the incoming waves

My work colleague was on holiday in Phuket when the tsunami struck. His hotel room was a beach hut, which he was inside when the tsunami struck. He says it was like being inside a washing machine being tumbled around. He and his girlfriend survived, but lost every item that they had apart from what they were wearing at the time. He'll never forget it.

It's crazy to think that even though 2004 wasn't that long ago, so much was still unknown about the signs of tsunamis to the general public.

Sometimes you wish you could go back in time and warn the people about what’s coming and save them

It’s astounding how fast it happened.. FYI if the ocean recedes (particularly further than normal)… RUN!! 🏃‍♀️ to higher ground

Vor zwei Wochen bin ich diesen Strand entlang gelaufen, immer im Blick das Meer und die Gedanken an die Menschen ❤

Still breaks my heart to see this , so many don’t know how to read the Ocean . Those pics of the ocean drawn back like that and people Mesmerized, oohhh my 🙏🏼

The Japanese Tsunami, of 2011, in a sense rewrote the Tsunami of 2004. The magnitude of the force of the water was clear to see in the HD videos. The videos and picture of the damage caused by the water, after the event, was somewhat baffling. After the Japanese Tsunami the HD videos were a shocking realization of the power of the water.

In 2004 Most people had no idea what a Tsunami looks like, but I sure almost everyone does now...

A colleague of me, knowing that I had already been in Thailand, once told me that me that her sister wanted to go on holiday in Thailand with her family and asked me if I thought it was a good idea. I said “Sure, Thailand is a very nice place to go on holiday to, certainly during the winter in Europe”. I met her again a couple of months later and she told me “You know, my sister went on holiday in Thailand. They were there during the Christmas period of 2004 and nobody, her or her family came back.”. I think about them every time this tsunami is mentioned and cannot help feeling somewhat guilty for their death.

Watching this has given me goosebumps. I was in Phuket, Thailand when it happened on 26th December 2004. Anything 200m from the beach inland was smashed, wrecked or damaged. 😢

19 years have passed but nothing is forgotten.

I dont know how anyone standing on the beach watching could have escaped. Bless them all..

All these people watching the waves without moving. 😮😢Why? What were they thinking??

1:25 I can understand that people didn't know anything about the tsunami, but they see in front of them a wall of water two palm trees high, moving at great speed and making a terrible sound!!! Where is the instinct of self-preservation in these people?!

Some very powerful still images. Thank you for these.

So sad, I can’t believe that people stood and watched that coming in with out running…..

Almost 20 years ago! I was there! Terrificante.Never forget

In some pics going around you can see some running and others not like some knew what draw back meant and others were just fascinated, but if I saw others running I'd run too 😅

The Navy PT boat gives fantastic scale to the waves with multiple perspectives

Unstoppable beast from the ocean. Seen one photo of a lady holding her toddler. Just a horrible chaotic event that took so many lives.

I was there in Khao Lak as a volunteer, rebuilding, clearing up etc few weeks later. We had to run one night when there was another earthquake and an expected tsunami ( that never came ). Bodies and various things were still being washed up weeks and months later

That image at 1:22 is mind-blowing!!!🤯🤯 How have those people NOT realized what's going on yet?

What is so strange is all the people standing around with their hands on their hips & not doing anything, until it's too late.

My daughter likes to swim, and she argues when I tell her to come out of the water. I fear so much for her safety when I watch these videos.

People see the cresting wave and fail to understand that the entire top of the sea is now at that elevation. The Tsunami actually extends back miles behind that initial wave.

The loss of life is heartbreaking

WOW😨! @1:22 With the Tsunami that close and the ppl just standing around right their in the tsunami pathway and not running away I wonder how many ppl die in that image😞

It is still so devastating to watch nearly 20 years on. So many people lost 😢

Never seen some of these photos. You've got to wonder how the photographers survived, at that close proximity.

My late Dad was born in 1927 and grew up spending summers in Stone Harbor at the NJ coast. He said twice, two different summers, when he was a teen, before he turned 18 and had to join WW11, that a huge rogue wave came in. It can happen again here on the east coast, you never know. Mid atlantic fault shifting a bit maybe.

Puedo entender que no supieran que estaba pasando y se quedaran curiosos mirando, pero a partir del minuto 1: 12 se ve claramente y muy cerca ya una pared de agua alta, turbia, el ruido debería ser ensordecedor y a partir del minuto 1:22 , la tienen casi encima, no se dan cuenta en ese momento lo alto que iba el mar y que tenían a 100 200 metros esa pared de agua muy tempestuosa directo a ellos? Creían que antes de llegar a sus pies ese monstruo de agua se iba a detener? Porqué no corren? Yo vivo muy cerca del mar y nunca he visto un tsunami, pero si hubiera visto ese horror estaría corriendo como alma que me lleva el diablo, no miraría atrás. No puedo entender la pasividad de esas personas. Saben que no es normal, se ve una pared de agua terrorífica y estoy segura que el sonido sería atronador, y siguen ahí mirando, grabando , tan tranquilos. Supongo que el de la cámara se salvó, sino no tendríamos estas imágenes tan impactantes

Standing there staring at this coming straight for them, you do not need to know anything about a tsunami to see that coming straight for you

This was the first tsunami those spectators saw, and for many, their last. Just standing there, mesmerized.

RIP to all poor souls that lost life on that fateful day. I was 14 years old and this was all foggy in my memory. I feel so sad about everyone my age, early 2000s were so traumatic for us born 1990… same goes for 9/11 events.. this was all very hard on our innocent young souls.. i feel sorry for everyone who lost someone in this tragic event.

What the world learned from this terrible natural occurrence was that if all the water suddenly recedes a long way, get to high ground as quick as possible. I remember being so saddened by this, I had to donate to the disaster relief fund. Rip to those that didn't make it.

When I was a young seaman many years ago couple of ships I was on went over some tsunami waves. They were just like a big ripple in the middle of the ocean. We never knew the massive damage they could do when they hit a continental shelf and just get more & more awesome as they head for the shore.

Great video!!!

At those times I didn't know it was a tsunami, and it was also believed that earthquakes only occurred in Japan, but everything changed in 2004.

The sound of the tsunami coming must have been so loud. How people didn't run away is beyond me.

Knowing most if not all of these people died is heart wrenching 😢

What is puzzling to me is how when the ocean went out that far and then returned if the for of a 30ft wave that probably sounded like a freight train , is how people didn't just say hey this can't be go let's run our asses off to higher ground.

It's still hard to take in❤ is 20 years ago this year, and I was 11 when it happend, and one of my brother's classmate , emma 14 years old became an angel in the tsunami❤. I was lucky that no one in my family was in Thailand that day❤ May god be with you 543 Swedish souls❤. Many in Thailand opend their home's and gave clothes, food and other stuff to take care of Swedish turists, who was hurt, while the Swedish guvement were on vacation.😮

I can’t understand everyone just standing and watching the wave coming at them.

How do you see that giant wall of water coming at you and not realize you should prolly get outta there?

If I saw those waves coming, I would have run to the highest spot. I grew up in Miami, and these waves were not normal.

Tsunamis are not as rare as you may think, however not usually on this devastating scale, I've been on holiday in the med and experienced two Tsunamis.

The current Finnish President Niinistö escaped by climbing up a utility pole. He had his two adult sons with him, everyone was saved. They were up in the pole for an hour.

how is it possible all these people do not know what a Tsunami is or signs of an approaching one? 4th grade geography

Very impressive dirge accompaniment to the gathering tragedy. Bravo! Should we stay? Should we go? Get the hell outta Dodge!!!

I don’t get how people just stand around looking at the sea receding, then see the white cap of the tsunami and keep standing and watching.

People casually standing around on the beach as the tsunami bears down on them 🤦🏻‍♂️. I'm assuming some of them didn't survive. When the water receded so far out, that was their cue to get the hell outta there.

wow, people literally standing there watching their own deaths approaching at 100 plus miles per hour.

It’s heartbreaking knowing those dear people so close to the water didn’t make it.😞

Back then I’d never heard of a Tsunami and when I heard about it on the news I thought it was a location where something had happened 🤦‍♂️

Those people in that picture in the beginning, dead

Is sad to know that all those ppl standing in the middle of the ocean or in the beach front most of them didn’t make it 😢 different times there was no way for them knowing what was coming until it was too late.

Have respect for the sea 🌊

I remember this event well - on my way home from my sister's house for Xmas - waiting in the Baltimore airport - watching reports as the death toll kept rising .. 40 K - 50 K - 70K and upwards .. so many people live & work near coastlines - and so many are very vulnerable as these people were - forces of nature can do immense damage - and with little to no warning ..

When locals panic then you panic

Tous ces gens que restent incrédules devant ce mur d'eau et qui ne comprennent pas que la mort arrive....... impressionnant.......

Des photos impressionnantes qui glacent le sang. Les gens sont restés devant ce mur d'eaux grises sans comprendre.

I'm like how can you just stand'dere when you see what's coming at you? And it's only getting bigger, and then there was just an earthquake too?!?😮

É impressionante como o ser humano ver o perigo, mas não sai de perto

No BRAZIL ano passado tivemos no sul do Brazil 2 vezes as aguas recuaram assim mais de 300 metros barcos ficaram tombados pedras apareceram mas sem explicação nenhuma voltou ao normal no outro dia ninguem conseguiu explicar isso foi muito estranho .

It just amazes me how people just stand there and not run smh, you can’t beat Mother Nature 😮.

Although not shown here, the one video/image that sums up this Tsunami perfectly is the lone person walking way out on the beach and the first wave coming and devouring him completely. It’s like he knew he’d screwed up big time and calmly waited for the inevitable 😢

It's incomprehensible to me that quantities of people stood unmoving on beaches for minutes while watching this huge mass of violently churning water rushing towards them. Yes, I'm very well aware that in 2004 many people didn't really understand what a tsunami was - but if you can SEE it coming towards you, would you not think to try to get away?

So sad...I remember exactly where I was that day when I heard the news! Does anyone know the music playing please?

I can see some people running and others still standing there like it's a parade coming. I watched the movie of a family caught in it. It's called (Impossible).

Its so sad to knew that almost all people on the pictures didnt survive its impossible to survive when they stand so near

Note how many people put their hands on their hips.

It’s was Dec.26,2004 Boxing day here in London. Went this horrible tsunami happened.R. I.P. To all the Victims.🙏

It is somewhat amazing the lack of public knowledge, or the dissemination of knowledge, about tsunamis. People just stood there and watched the waves approaching, not knowing that the walls of water were going to keep on coming.

I saw these photos on the Internet. But at 1.44, two photos were taken as a montage. These are photos from the video interview. There are only 2 original photos that are shown a little earlier. In general, the selection is consistent, but I found another series of interesting photos from Khao Lak and Bang Niang.

Remember this So Well My Wife was in Khao Lak and I was on Surin Island

I grew up next to the Atlantic Ocean, and I know if the water sucks out like that, it's time to run and keep running uphill as far as possible!

It’s nothing short of shocking and frightening how people are just standing there even when the tsunami is that close to them. I know it’s fascinating to see but is it that oblivious that they were in absolute mortal danger?

I remember the guy and his family. Dad figures out in the knick of time what it is TSUNAMI grabs a daughter, mom grabs a daughter and they make it up the hillside with no time to spare. Eerie feeling, wall of water chasing you, for a good 3 minutes

It still breaks my heart these people stood there as the ocean did a 180 from the gently lapping blue water to the above and didn't run.

Back then tsunamis were very rare events and this one was the first one to be recorded in history so that's why people reacted too slow to save themselves.

Did they get a refund for the hotel?

Me admira as pessoas estarem na areia sem perceber o que estava vindo no outside😢😢😢

I wonder how many of the people shown here survived…

I was on holiday with my girl friend in Khao Lak a week before. It was very very bad to see this and know that everything was destroyed. 😭😭😭

Incrível as pessoas não perceberem a dimensão do perigo iminente, imóveis e perplexas observando as ondas se aproximarem...

It called a movie about that the move called The Impossible

April 2024 freuen uns schon auf Khao Lak 😊

Very very tragic. Nothing prepares you for this kind of calamity. I grew up on an island. My brother taught me: Respect the ocean. Don’t turn your back in the water. If the water looks choppy, avoid it. there are likely currents from different directions and it is rougher. And yes. If the water starts receding far out, run as hard as you can to highesr ground.

Who took these pictures and survived to share them......

Wonder if anyone on the beach in those pics survived…..

I hope people have learned to read the signs these days, a great tragedy😢

Qdo vc. Estiver na praia a beira mar e observar a água recuar da margem de onde se banha repentinamente, voce pode correr e abrigar-se bem longe e alto.

The residents that lived in these areas lost everything including homes, jobs, family , sad, sad time.

People just standing there staring… 😳

I wonder what happened to the people on the beach, who lived, who perished..... And they look so unfazed...

Muito triste.... 250 mil pessoas morreram....

Is this the Tsunami that the movie “The Impossible” was made about?

O pior que o tisunami muitas vezes não da muito pra perceber que é um tisunami, porque ela vem como ondas normal, aí quando agente percebe já está muito perto e muito forte 😢

Kennt man schon. Keine neuen Bilder, Zusammenschnitt aus bekannten Videos. 🤨🤔😒