Canadian Connections: The 2004 Boxing Day Tsunami

Interactive Transcript

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spk_0 At dawn on December 26, 2004, Acheh Provin's in Northern Samatra began the day with no sign of

spk_0 what was to come. A massive undersea earthquake among the strongest ever recorded struck deep

spk_0 beneath the Indian Ocean off Samatra's west coast. The seafloor shifted several meters with a

spk_0 rupture stretching over 1200 kilometers and the tremors were so intense that they were registered

spk_0 across continents. Within minutes, colossal tsunami waves raced out into the Indian Ocean reaching

spk_0 up to 30 meters high near the coast. Villages in Acheh were hit just 15 minutes after the quake

spk_0 with the deluge spreading in the following hours to Thailand, Sri Lanka, India, the Maldives,

spk_0 and even the East African coast. Locals and tourists on the beaches had little warning,

spk_0 watching a tranquil morning turn into a disaster as the water surged in.

spk_0 The scale of the loss was staggering over 227,000 people in 14 countries died with Indonesia,

spk_0 Thailand, India, and Sri Lanka hardest hit. Holmes, businesses, and communities

spk_0 disappeared beneath the waves, leaving survivors to face displacement and grief.

spk_0 The boxing day tsunami remains the deadliest tsunami in history and one of the worst natural

spk_0 disasters of the modern era. At least 15 Canadians were confirmed dead and another six missing

spk_0 after the disaster, most while vacationing in Thailand or Sri Lanka. Survivors described the

spk_0 anguish of searching for loved ones in a long complicated process of identifying and repatriating

spk_0 those lost. You are listening to Dark Bootene episode 391, Canadian Connections, the 2004 boxing day

spk_0 tsunami. I address this topic in a chapter of my first book, the best-selling murder madness in

spk_0 Mayhem, however, it's still a story that's on my mind for several reasons. In my book, I was limited

spk_0 by word count and could not effectively address specific topics, including the stories of Canadians

spk_0 who were present to whom I knew John and Jackie Nill. They both perished that day. This episode is

spk_0 my way of digging back into something that both fascinates and terrifies me. Throughout history,

spk_0 tsunamis have left marks on both humankind and landscapes. Their records reaching back to

spk_0 antiquity and spanning the globe. Long before technology offered warnings or allowed for rapid

spk_0 response, these waves arrived with little more than moments of foreboding, the sudden withdrawal of

spk_0 the sea, the frightened flight of birds, a distant, unyielding roar. The threat of tsunamis predates

spk_0 written history with geological evidence revealing ancient events caused by asteroid impacts and

spk_0 massive landslides. For example, the collapse of the East Molokai volcano in Hawaii over a million

spk_0 years ago unleashed a wave estimated to be 600 meters high. Its effects were found as far away as

spk_0 California and Mexico. The Chixalube impact, which contributed to the extinction of the dinosaurs

spk_0 approximately 66 million years ago, sent waves over 1,500 meters high across the Gulf of Mexico.

spk_0 While these prehistoric tsunamis surpass anything recorded in history, it is the more recent events,

spk_0 those experienced, chronicled, and endured by humans that shape a clearer history.

spk_0 The oldest written account of a tsunami dates back to 479 BC in Paudity, Greece during a Persian siege.

spk_0 The Greek historian Herodotus tells how Persian attackers pursuing retreating waters were suddenly

spk_0 overwhelmed by a returning great tide higher as the locals say than anyone of many that had been

spk_0 before. Ancient writers often attributed such devastation to the wrath of gods. Herodotus

spk_0 cited Poseidon. Later, the sinking of Helike in 373 BC was seen as divine retribution and its

spk_0 legend may have fueled the origin myth of Atlantis. It's worth noting that Atlantis itself isn't

spk_0 an ancient folk memory actually Plato created Atlantis. He created the myth. As a thought experiment,

spk_0 of course he was indeed borrowing from real disasters like this one because it was only a few

spk_0 decades before he created Atlantis in Tameis and Crataeus. It's two sort of dialogues,

spk_0 books that he wrote about 360 BC. He's the story of talk about hubris and collapse,

spk_0 not to record history, and we're the ones that turned it into legend. In fact, my husband's

spk_0 watching Stargate Atlantis right now. It's interesting how things that are created as a thought

spk_0 experiment become truth, which is kind of true. By the way, just a side note here,

spk_0 Justin was so upset with me when I told him that Stargate was better than Star Trek.

spk_0 Oh dear, though, it them's fighting words to a trekkie. It's a better show.

spk_0 We're probably going to have lots of people calling you about that.

spk_0 Yeah. Lots of people are arguing with you. These are Matthew's opinions, not mine.

spk_0 By the 5th century BC, as noted by Thucydides in his history of the Peloponnesian war,

spk_0 thinkers began to contemplate natural causes for these maritime disasters. Thucydides argued,

spk_0 the cause in my opinion must be sought in the earthquake. At the point where its shock has been

spk_0 most violent, the sea is driven back and suddenly recoiling with redoubled force causes the

spk_0 inundation. Without an earthquake, I do not see how such an accident could happen. His observation

spk_0 linked tsunamis to undersea earthquakes, a connection recognized centuries before it could

spk_0 be scientifically proven. Throughout the Roman era, historical sources occasionally described the

spk_0 effects of tsunamis. Amianus, Marcellinus, in his account of the 365 AD earthquake and tsunami

spk_0 that devastated Alexandria, Egypt, vividly recounted how the sea retreated from the land so that

spk_0 the depths of the sea could be seen, littered with fish and other marine creatures before the

spk_0 water returned in a towering wall. This event was catastrophic, killing thousands and throwing

spk_0 ships two miles inland. The anniversary became an annual day of horror in Alexandria. In the centuries

spk_0 that followed, large tsunamis struck repeatedly across coastal Europe, the Middle East, and Asia.

spk_0 In Japan, a land acutely aware of the threat due to its frequent earthquakes records became

spk_0 especially meticulous. The first documented Japanese tsunami occurred in 684 AD, with waves

spk_0 striking the coasts of Kee, Shikoku, and Awaji. Historical records detail subsequent disasters such as

spk_0 the 869 Jogun earthquake and tsunami which flooded the San Riku region and destroyed Togajo,

spk_0 resulting in thousands of deaths. Japan's vulnerability became tragically clear again in 1707 and

spk_0 1703 when two massive tsunamis destroyed tens of thousands of homes and killed over 30,000 people

spk_0 each. Japanese communities developed a culture of preparedness, relocating villages to higher ground

spk_0 and following certain disastrous events, building protective coastal dikes. In 1755, one of the most

spk_0 powerful earthquakes in European history struck off the coast of Lisbon, Portugal, the shaking collapse

spk_0 buildings across the city. Then as thousands fled to the open waterfront to sea suddenly withdrew,

spk_0 exposing the harbor bed and shipwrecks, a series of waves then swept in one reaching 15 meters high,

spk_0 flooding streets, and killing tens of thousands. Many survivors perished in fires that followed,

spk_0 or were lost to aftershocks and disease. The combined toll is estimated between 40,000 and 50,000 deaths

spk_0 across Portugal, Spain, and Morocco. The philosopher Voltaire famously wrote of the disaster in his poem

spk_0 poem, Pohem Sardalut Disaster de Lisbon. The city of Lisbon is no more. Did the voice of the Lord fall

spk_0 upon the cities to destroy their children? The disaster changed European understanding of

spk_0 earthquakes and tsunamis, inspiring new approaches to natural hazards and risk.

spk_0 Yeah, the Lisbon earthquake was one of those big moments in human history because it wasn't just

spk_0 in natural disasters, kind of an intellectual one as well, right? It shook the foundations of how

spk_0 people explain the world. So Voltaire used it to question faith and roso blamed human choices

spk_0 like crowding in cities and the government's commission, the first sort of systematic surveys

spk_0 of the damage. And out of the ruins of Lisbon came statistics and map and this new idea that maybe

spk_0 disasters weren't punishments but patterns, right? That shift is what eventually gave us modern

spk_0 seismology and civil engineering. So you could actually argue that Lisbon was the first modern

spk_0 disaster investigation. Sure. Now there at the moment risk management seismology became sort of

spk_0 separate from theology. Yeah, a big move across the Indian Ocean, major tsunamis before 2004 were

spk_0 less well documented, but they left traces in oral history and in the land itself.

spk_0 Archaeological studies in Ache, Indonesia have revealed stratigraphic layers showing that at least

spk_0 11 prehistoric tsunamis struck the coast between 7,402,900 years ago, researchers note.

spk_0 The average time period between tsunamis is about 450 years with intervals ranging from a long

spk_0 dormant period of over 2000 years to multiple tsunamis within the span of a century.

spk_0 Other research in the Indian Ocean Basin supports accounts of large waves affecting Sri Lanka and

spk_0 India at intervals stretching a thousand years or more. The violent eruption of Krakatoa in 1883

spk_0 caused one of the deadliest tsunamis of the 19th century. Following a series of massive explosions,

spk_0 half of the island collapsed into the sea, generating waves as high as 40 meters.

spk_0 Contemporary reports from the Dutch East Indies, now Indonesia, describe villages inundated far

spk_0 inland with entire communities erased in minutes. Official Dutch colonial records reported 36,000

spk_0 dead with actual numbers likely higher. The aftermath left some areas never resettled,

spk_0 reverting to jungle. In his 1883 account, British naturalist Henry O. Forbes described arriving at

spk_0 Taluk Batong to find a landscape swept clean, the skeletons of houses, and men's lives scattered

spk_0 like driftwood above the new high watermark. In 1896, a devastating tsunami struck Japan's San Riku

spk_0 coast after a magnitude 7.6 earthquake. The waves rose more than 30 meters.

spk_0 Because the ground shaking was minimal, residents did not evacuate, believing there was no

spk_0 immediate risk. The death toll surpassed 27,000. Fisherman Rintaro Kizawa described,

spk_0 the tsunami arrived in three waves. The second was the greatest. I saw the sea run backwards

spk_0 away from us, exposing fish and seabed, then come back all at once. The Pacific and South American

spk_0 coast also suffered catastrophic tsunamis. The 1868 Eureka earthquake, with an estimated magnitude

spk_0 of between 8.5 and 9.3, triggered a tsunami that claimed approximately 25,000 lives in Peru,

spk_0 now Chile, and affected regions as distant as New Zealand and Japan. Waves carried warships inland,

spk_0 and witnesses reported the sea rose like a mountain covering the land and taking all before it.

spk_0 North America was not spared. The 1700 Cascadia earthquake ruptured around 1,000 kilometers of

spk_0 Pacific Northwest coastline, sending tsunamis across the Pacific to Japan, where it was recorded

spk_0 as the orphan tsunami. Indigenous accounts from the Nuchanolth and Maka peoples' televillages swept

spk_0 away. The forest that moved down to the sea and the sea that came up to the forest. Some local

spk_0 tsunamis showed remarkable force. In Alaska's Latoya Bay in 1958, a landslide generated a 524 meter

spk_0 wave stripping trees from the slopes. Howard Ulrich, who survived in a small boat described

spk_0 a wall of water rising above the trees coming at us faster than you can think. It picked up our

spk_0 boat as a matchstick. We rode on the crest for what seemed like forever before it set us down,

spk_0 stunned and alive. And that phrase stunned the live really sticks with me. I felt this way,

spk_0 particularly this year with all the stuff I've gone through. Stunned but alive, yeah.

spk_0 Yeah, and you know, you don't get through something this big and come out unchanged, right? And

spk_0 you don't walk away polished. You walk away dazed and kind of blinking and realizing you're still

spk_0 here. And survival doesn't always feel like triumph. It's really weird, like I'm feeling that.

spk_0 In some ways, sometimes it just feels like breath in your lungs and the slow work of figuring out

spk_0 what's next, or you do it with the aftershocks in your life around you, which I'm still feeling

spk_0 on a personal level. But yes, stunned and alive is a great way of describing it. Yeah, definitely.

spk_0 Well, I am glad you are both stunned and alive, my friend. Through the 20th century, tsunamis remain

spk_0 deadly. The 1908 Messina earthquake in tsunami killed over 80,000 in Sicily and Calabria.

spk_0 After the 1946 Aleutian Islands, tsunami killed more than 170 in Hilo, Hawaii, the world's first

spk_0 tsunami warning system was established there. Survivors recalled the ocean made a sound like

spk_0 a hundred freight trains. By the time we started running, the water was at our heels. The 1960 Chilean

spk_0 earthquake produced a tsunami that raced across the Pacific, striking Hawaii, Japan, New Zealand,

spk_0 and the Philippines, causing hundreds more deaths and widespread destruction. Despite repeated

spk_0 tragedy, the science behind tsunamis remained poorly understood until well into the 20th century

spk_0 and effective mitigation was rare. Japan led the research and development of countermeasures,

spk_0 adopting education campaigns and constructing seawalls in vulnerable areas as early as the 1890s.

spk_0 Historical accounts, oral traditions, and modern science all attest that tsunamis shaped lives

spk_0 in societies long before the Boxing Day disaster, each event reinforcing a hard lesson when the

spk_0 sea retreats run to high ground and do not look back. Before Boxing Day 2004, my understanding of a

spk_0 tsunami included the famous painting called the Great Wave, Off Kanagawa, from the 1820s,

spk_0 by Japanese artist Hokusai. I used to mistakenly refer to them as a title wave, but the two are not

spk_0 the same thing. The effects of the gravitational interactions between the Sun, Moon, and Earth on

spk_0 the ocean cause title waves. Earthquakes, sub-oceanic landslides, volcanic eruptions, and extraterrestrial

spk_0 collisions such as a massive meteor strike can generate tsunamis. The tragic events unfolding

spk_0 around the Indian Ocean that day gave the world a quick harsh lesson in the power and mechanics of

spk_0 tsunamis. Tsunamis are a common danger after deep sea earthquakes. The nations around the Pacific

spk_0 Ring of Fire have a sophisticated tsunami warning system in place. However, in 2004, there was no

spk_0 such system in the region around the Indian Ocean. Millions of people in 14 countries had no inkling

spk_0 they were about to learn firsthand about a tsunami's power. Just before 8am local time, 0-0-5-8-GMT,

spk_0 on December 26, 2004, the third most powerful earthquake ever recorded struck off the west coast

spk_0 of Samatra. The quake originated near the island of Simulaway and reached between 9.1 and 9.3

spk_0 in magnitude. The epicenter was approximately 30 kilometers beneath the northern Indian Ocean,

spk_0 where the Indian tectonic plate moving northeast at a rate of 5 centimeters per year is being forced

spk_0 under the Burmese microplate of the Sun to plate. For more than 8 minutes, the Earth ruptured

spk_0 northward along the ocean floor at 2.5 kilometers per second, unzipping a fault over 1,200 kilometers

spk_0 long. The Indian plate jumped upward and westward by as much as 20 meters, displacing massive

spk_0 amounts of rock and releasing energy about 1,500 times greater than the atomic bomb dropped on

spk_0 Hiroshima. Simatran's near the epicenter experienced the most intense shaking. The tremors

spk_0 traveled for thousands of kilometers. People felt the quake as far away as 4,000 kilometers

spk_0 northwest in India, Sri Lanka, and the Maldives. Even those 5,000 kilometers north in Thailand,

spk_0 Myanmar, and Bangladesh, as well as the easternmost parts of Indonesia, felt the movement.

spk_0 seismic instruments worldwide detected the earthquake, which was powerful enough to trigger more

spk_0 minor quakes as far away as Alaska. Charles Ammon, associate professor of geosciences at Penn

spk_0 State University, told CNN, globally this earthquake was large enough to basically vibrate the whole

spk_0 planet as much as half an inch or a centimeter. Everywhere we had instruments we could see motions.

spk_0 The quake's duration was also unusually long and to that point it was the longest ever measured.

spk_0 Ammon also said, normally a small earthquake might last less than a second, a moderate-sized

spk_0 earthquake might last a few seconds. This earthquake lasted between 500 and 600 seconds.

spk_0 The undersea megathrust quake displaced massive volumes of water, sending tsunami waves racing

spk_0 outward at jet plane speeds up to 500 miles per hour in deep water. Waves as high as 30 meters

spk_0 struck hardest in Ache province, Indonesia within minutes of the quake. Villages on Samatra's

spk_0 western coast were obliterated as waves swept people in debris up to two kilometers inland.

spk_0 The tsunami reached Thailand's resort beaches about two hours after the earthquake. Here tourists

spk_0 and locals, many unaware of the danger, watched the sea recede before the first wave hit.

spk_0 Some tried to flee and others were caught filming or taking pictures. The water crashed into hotels

spk_0 and shops, breaking through walls and windows drowning those unable to escape in time. The scene

spk_0 repeated itself across the region. In Sri Lanka, India and the Maldives, massive waves reached far

spk_0 inland scattering homes and families. As the hours passed, the tsunami continued its devastation.

spk_0 The waves hit Samalia in East Africa, 12 hours and 8,000 kilometers from the epicenter.

spk_0 Even the coast of South Africa and Antarctica was touched by the energy of the waves,

spk_0 evidence of the disaster's reach. Throughout the Indian Ocean Basin,

spk_0 infrastructure was obliterated, roads, homes, hospitals and businesses vanished in minutes.

spk_0 Entire communities disappeared. The human toll was catastrophic. At least 227,000 people died

spk_0 across 14 countries. Indonesia alone lost more than 165,000 especially in a Che. Sri Lanka

spk_0 recorded more than 35,000 deaths. India over 16,000 and Thailand over 8,000 including thousands

spk_0 of tourists visiting for the holidays. Thousands more people were reported missing and 1.75 million

spk_0 people were driven from their homes across the affected countries. In the aftermath, many survivors

spk_0 were left without clean water, shelter or access to health care. The tsunami's destruction spurred

spk_0 a global humanitarian response with billions donated to relief and rebuilding efforts.

spk_0 Long-term consequences included economic losses. Indonesia lost the equivalent of an entire

spk_0 province's GDP and widespread environmental damage. The disaster remains the deadliest tsunami

spk_0 in recorded history and one of the most devastating natural disasters of the modern era.

spk_0 The economic impact on the coastal villages that were hit the hardest was also immense.

spk_0 The fishery was the primary source of employment in many of the settlements wiped off the map

spk_0 by the tsunami. The waves destroyed tens of thousands of fishing vessels. The waves washed away

spk_0 much of the infrastructure supporting the industry, including local shops that sold those fish as

spk_0 food to locals in some of the region's most impoverished communities. In Sri Lanka alone,

spk_0 more than 51,000 boats were sunk or smashed to tender and at least 250,000 people lost jobs

spk_0 related to the fishery. After a quick break, we'll hear stories of several Canadians directly

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spk_0 And we are back Matthew, thoughts so far. Yeah, I've been to many places for the tsunami struck.

spk_0 In Pukat, I stayed more than once at the Amon Peri Resort. It's just above Surin Beach.

spk_0 I got quite a bit with people on Kamala Beach and Patong Beach and all these beaches got hit

spk_0 like really badly. And the last visit I had was I think about just the winter before this one.

spk_0 And in Sri Lanka as well. I don't know if you know about this coastal train that goes from

spk_0 Colombo to Gal, got hit by the wave and there were 1700 people on the train.

spk_0 Right, yeah. So it was the largest train disaster in history. Most of them died. And having been there

spk_0 doesn't make the disaster mine, but it changes I think how I see it. You know, the images I saw

spk_0 in the news weren't anonymous to me. You know, they're tied to people I spoke with and laughed with

spk_0 and shared meals with. And you know, travelers like me, you know, we come and go, but for locals,

spk_0 this is life and home and livelihood. And you know, I often think of this one Thai guy. He

spk_0 went by the name John. This super friendly guy on the beach had like this little beach hut restaurant.

spk_0 And I hung out with him every day and his little kids would like serve right and his wife worked with

spk_0 him and they would have been right there. And you know, I'll never know if people like John and his

spk_0 family survived. And that uncertainties what lingers, you know, when this happened, it hit me

spk_0 quite hard just because I knew the places, right? Yeah. Yeah. The rest of the world watched events

spk_0 unfold in real time through live television news feeds and internet updates. Many stepped up to help.

spk_0 We were particularly proud of Canada's response as private citizens alone contributed

spk_0 $230 million Canadian dollars to tsunami relief and Canadian businesses contributed another 36 million

spk_0 Canadian dollars. Those numbers were matched nearly dollar for dollar by the government of Canada

spk_0 with provinces kicking in more over the next few months. Citizens from 55 countries worldwide

spk_0 donated more than nine billion US dollars. The World Bank donated another one billion US dollars.

spk_0 Canadians caught in the path of the 2004 Boxing Day tsunami experience scenes of terror,

spk_0 devastation, and remarkable survival. Christine Lang of Vancouver is among the most visible Canadian

spk_0 survivors with her memories detailed in interviews and anniversary retrospectives. At the time of

spk_0 the disaster she was on Kofi Phi in Thailand with Rubina Wong, her brother's girlfriend. They were

spk_0 shopping on Main Street oblivious to any danger when she saw a Thai woman holding a bucket of water

spk_0 screaming. Lang later recalled people started running inland. From where we were, we could not see

spk_0 the ocean. We could not see the beach, so we had absolutely no idea what was going on. Nobody was

spk_0 saying run this way, come here, or it's a tsunami. To Lang the first sound seemed like war. It was a

spk_0 horrific noise and it sounded to me like airplanes and I thought maybe the island was being a

spk_0 attack, so I looked to the sky. It was perfectly clear, perfectly blue and sunny. She and Rubina joined

spk_0 the fleeing crowds. As water began racing inland, Lang found she couldn't lift her feet to run anymore.

spk_0 Rubina had veered down a side street, Lang never saw her alive again. She described what happened

spk_0 next. The next thing I saw a massive black wall of water, not like a cresting wave, a black

spk_0 wall of water, maybe three to four stories high coming toward the island. And then it just blasted

spk_0 me right off my feet and I was tumbling in the wave. It was like being tossed in a massive washing

spk_0 machine with the entire contents of the island. I didn't have any sensation except for complete

spk_0 utter fear. Lang was swept away but managed to spot a house and a man on the roof. She said,

spk_0 I made it my mission to climb over floating debris to the balcony of this house to refuge.

spk_0 There was a Thai man on the top of the roof and a Thai woman and he pulled me up onto the roof

spk_0 and from there I could see the one hotel on the island. As the water slowly receded she crawled

spk_0 over wreckage to the hotel where others pulled her onto a balcony. There were lots of injured people

spk_0 there, survivors helping survivors. They were pulling bodies into the first and second floors of

spk_0 the hotel. There were people with horrific injuries. There was blood everywhere. There was blood

spk_0 all over me. She recalled. Lang joined others on the hotel roof surveying the destruction.

spk_0 And it honestly seemed like it was the end of the world. I had no idea what was going on. What

spk_0 had happened to the rest of the world? What had happened to Puket? What had happened everywhere

spk_0 else? We were completely cut off without power. Everything was down. She described the memory as

spk_0 fresh even years later. The whole experience is very vivid. It's like a movie in my head. Your

spk_0 brain doesn't forget that. It doesn't seem like ten years at all. In her account to CBC in 2014

spk_0 she added, the water was motionless at that point and I remember looking for some way to get out

spk_0 to save myself because I needed air. I looked up and I saw in the distance a small circle of light.

spk_0 My heart was jackhammering and my lungs were ready to burst and I just kept swimming for that

spk_0 circle of light coming from the surface and eventually I got there. Once at the surface she reached

spk_0 the roof of a house, was helped by locals and later made her way to a surviving hotel and onto

spk_0 the pier where she and others waited for evacuation. Looking back she said, I'm not going to die here.

spk_0 I'm not going to die here. The carnage in the harbor caused a shock that was hard to process.

spk_0 The surface of the water was covered with suitcases and clothing and rooftops and all kinds of debris

spk_0 that was picked up by the tsunami and pushed off the island and into the water. I think we were all

spk_0 in shock. Nothing seemed real. Lang's brother who survived ultimately identified Rubina Wong's body

spk_0 and Thailand by her tattoos. Lang said the event gave her 10 bonus years and a determination to

spk_0 never take life for granted. She declined returning to Thailand on the anniversary, choosing instead

spk_0 to visit the ocean in Vancouver and remember all who were lost. Across the tsunami zone, Canadian

spk_0 saw terror and heartbreak. Jebnes and Rottenham, a Canadian Tamil, lost his two nieces and his aunt

spk_0 in the disaster. In an interview, he described being swept from his home in Sri Lanka by the incoming

spk_0 wave and surviving by clinging to debris in the flooding waters. It was like a scene from a nightmare.

spk_0 The water came so quickly and then my family was separated in an instant. You don't even think

spk_0 you just try to survive. He later told Tamil Guardian reporters. You don't even think you just

spk_0 try to survive. That kind of says everything. Yeah, right. In disasters like this, people don't

spk_0 move like characters do in a movie, right? Weng choices. No. They move completely on instinct.

spk_0 And I think survival on something like this big happens so suddenly, so any planning or identity or

spk_0 language. And I'd imagine it's just breath to breath. And the fallout is once you've survived,

spk_0 having to live with what was lost in those seconds. So like your head, you're just trying to grab

spk_0 on anything to survive. And then you come out of it and like family and home and community's gone.

spk_0 And that's the part we rarely see on the news. Yep, definitely.

spk_0 Dr. Nelson Ames, a Canadian physician was on vacation in Thailand when the tsunami struck.

spk_0 He wrote in a letter for the British Columbia Medical Journal. I was woken by the shaking,

spk_0 but it was not until the screams and the rush of water that I understood something was terribly

spk_0 wrong. People were running. You could hear them yelling in different languages. The water was

spk_0 everywhere carrying trees, cars, parts of buildings, so many injured people. We started helping where

spk_0 we could improvising with what we had. Some Canadians worked tirelessly to help survivors.

spk_0 The Canadian High Commission in Sri Lanka coordinated emergency relief for Canadians and local

spk_0 victims. Diplomats led by the High Commissioner set up emergency stations at Colombo Airport and

spk_0 local hospitals to assist the injured, help with paperwork and support families of missing Canadians.

spk_0 Canadian search and rescue specialists secured passage home for dozen stranded in hospitals and

spk_0 hotels. While most visitors returned home with only memories and scars, some Canadians deeply

spk_0 moved, built lasting connections. In the years after the tsunami, Canadians formed partnerships

spk_0 with communities in Thailand and Sri Lanka for ongoing recovery and commemoration projects.

spk_0 When I got an email from a photographer friend of mine days after the quake and tsunami,

spk_0 the events hit home for me. I learned that a couple I knew was missing. John and Jackie Nill,

spk_0 both 54, owned a beautiful home and property in North Vancouver, BC. The Nills were kind enough

spk_0 to allow us to use their swimming pool as a photo location in July of 2004 when I was producing

spk_0 a bathing suit calendar. I recall them as kind, happy people and proud parents of grown boys,

spk_0 Patrick, David and Christian. John was a musical composer and he ran a recording studio in North

spk_0 Vancouver. John and Jackie Nill were deeply tied to family art and music. The Nills family was

spk_0 close knit, sharing many milestones and holidays. Both John and Jackie cherished travel,

spk_0 but Thailand held a special place in their hearts, becoming a favored destination that they revisited

spk_0 often over the years. As a friend later remembered, Thailand was almost a second home for John and Jackie.

spk_0 They loved the beaches there, the people and the warmth. John Nill started his career in the security

spk_0 industry, retiring in 1991 from an alarm company his own family had created in Western Canada.

spk_0 Retirement was not the end of his professional pursuits. He was also a talented composer and music

spk_0 producer owning and operating a recording studio in North Vancouver. John's early musical ambitions

spk_0 began in the 1970s and he later co-founded the Jazz Fusion Group Passage in the 1990s. He worked

spk_0 as a producer with several notable Canadian artists, including gospel singer Marcus Mosley and other

spk_0 prominent musicians. John's colleagues respected him for his creativity talent and unfailing kindness.

spk_0 Jackie Nill matched her husband's artistic energy with her own creative work as a watercolor artist.

spk_0 Her paintings often reflected her love for travel and the natural world, showing scenes from across

spk_0 British Columbia and beyond. Friends described her as deeply caring devoted to her family and

spk_0 passionate about her art. Together, John and Jackie were remembered as the kind of people who made

spk_0 any gathering better, warm, generous and open-hearted, said Terry McGuire, John's sister.

spk_0 For Christmas in 2004, John and Jackie decided to return to Kau Lakh, a picturesque coastal region

spk_0 in Thailand renowned for its stunning beaches. They phoned their sons on Christmas Day to wish

spk_0 them well and share their happiness at being back in a place they so cherished. Early the next

spk_0 morning they set out for the beaches they had so many times before, carrying their digital camera

spk_0 to capture the day. They were enjoying a great vacation, ready to relax and soak in the sun.

spk_0 Wrote Kevin Caruso reflecting on the last day of their lives. Their final moments are documented in

spk_0 an extraordinary and tragic series of photographs discovered after the tsunami. John and Jackie's

spk_0 digital camera, although battered, was found by Christian Palette, an American missionary as he

spk_0 walked along the devastated beach weeks after the disaster. Miraculously, the camera's memory card

spk_0 survived. Once retrieved and its images viewed, the card revealed a record of the Nils last morning,

spk_0 a series of pictures showing ocean views, beach scenes and most strikingly the approach of the

spk_0 tsunami wave. The photographs depict a tranquil morning, swimmers in the water, people standing on

spk_0 the sand, and then a growing unease as onlookers notice the shape of a dark wave gathering off

spk_0 the timeline recorded on the camera shows a devastatingly short progression from 820 AM when

spk_0 the beach looked normal to 831 AM when a massive wave had arrived. I don't know why they didn't run

spk_0 said their son, Christian Nils, either they knew they couldn't or they didn't know the power of

spk_0 the wave. Other family members and friends have described the impact of these images. Patrick Nils,

spk_0 their middle son, said, initially I couldn't bring myself to look at them. However, after viewing them

spk_0 a few more times I was able to really observe, the waves were incredibly massive and powerful,

spk_0 and people were merely standing there. He found comfort imagining his parents embracing each other

spk_0 aware of what was about to happen and taking those pictures. They must have hoped that if someone

spk_0 found the camera there would be something left to remember them by. For days after news of the

spk_0 tsunami broke the Nilsons waited anxiously searching for confirmation that hope faded as their

spk_0 parents remained missing and reports came in from international authorities. John's brother-in-law

spk_0 Roy McGuire flew to Thailand to search for them and later reflected it was a chance to get that

spk_0 sense of closure that so many thousands with missing loved ones will never have on December 31st.

spk_0 2004 John Nils' body was found and Jackie's was recovered two weeks later on January 13th, 2005.

spk_0 After their remains were identified their sons received the camera's memory card from Christian

spk_0 Pyle delivered in person to the Nils family's Vancouver home. The images on that card became

spk_0 both a record and a tribute. This is more closure than we thought was possible," said Patrick Nils.

spk_0 I know they're together. They were always together. The Nils' cremated remains were returned to

spk_0 Canada with a family memorial service held in Vancouver the following month. Their loss was deeply

spk_0 felt across their community and within Canada's music and art circles. As their legacy the Nils family

spk_0 and friends established the Nils Thailand fund raising over $60,000 to build a school in a community

spk_0 close to their hearts in Kao Loc, Thailand. I didn't feel sadness for them.

spk_0 I know they were in a place they loved with people they loved," said Sister-in-law Terry McGuire.

spk_0 It's very sad for us who are left here without them. There's a huge void in our lives.

spk_0 John and Jackie Nils are remembered not only for their creative and professional contributions but

spk_0 also as loving parents, devoted partners, and generous friends. Their story captured in their last

spk_0 photographs and by the words of those who knew them is both a testament to lives well-lived and a

spk_0 reminder of the fragility of life. They were always together," Patrick said, and they still are.

spk_0 You know what's remarkable to me is the openness that the Nils family showed here.

spk_0 They could have seen Thailand only as the place where their parents died sort of this distant

spk_0 backdrop to a private Canadian tragedy. But instead they understood that locals had lost a lot more

spk_0 in a lot of ways. Whole families, whole communities. What I love about this family is that their

spk_0 grief didn't make them turn inward or treat this tragedy as theirs alone. It made them actually

spk_0 reach out. Building a school on Kau Lack was a way of saying this loss connects us. It doesn't

spk_0 divide us. They showed this gesture of solidarity and love for fellow human beings, not just sort of

spk_0 memorial to their parents. They just sound like such a fascinating family to me.

spk_0 The people who I met, the Nils were such a nice couple. They were very kind. They seem like

spk_0 cool people. They were. They were. He was so laid back. We're shooting bathing suit models in

spk_0 his swimming pool for a calendar. He was just so chill about it. He was like, you kids have fun

spk_0 kind of thing. He was just happy to be somebody who provided us a location.

spk_0 Were you shooting the swimsuit calendar for Sports Illustrated or for Bowdog?

spk_0 Oh for beer. No, no. Bowdog was gambling. Okay. Yeah. Gambling and bikinis. Okay. Yeah.

spk_0 Surprise.

spk_0 At least 15 Canadians died in the Boxing Day tsunami of 2004, most while vacationing in Thailand

spk_0 and Sri Lanka during the holiday season. The dead included entire families, couples, and solo

spk_0 travelers who, like thousands of others in the region, were swept away with little warning as the waves

spk_0 surged ashore. Jebneson, Rottenham, a Canadian visiting family in Sri Lanka, suffered the loss of

spk_0 two nieces in an ant during the disaster. In his account, Rottenham described being carried off

spk_0 by the powerful wave, surviving only by clinging to debris and later discovering the deaths of his

spk_0 relatives. He said, everything happened so fast. The water separated us instantly. In the aftermath,

spk_0 all I could do was search and hope. The process of identifying the Canadian dead was slow and

spk_0 distressing, often complicated by the destruction of infrastructure and the loss of documentation.

spk_0 According to Foreign Affairs Canada, consular staff worked day and night supporting families of

spk_0 the missing and confirmed dead, helping with repatriation and offering what little comfort they could.

spk_0 In some cases, entire family groups left behind only memories and personal effects found on the

spk_0 beach. Temporary shrines and memorial services spring up across Thailand and Sri Lanka with ceremonies

spk_0 attended by locals, survivors, and representatives from the embassies. The gravity of the loss was

spk_0 reflected in the words of then ambassador to Thailand who said, the loss of our citizens is a wound

spk_0 that reaches all the way home. We share in the grief of families who lost loved ones far from home

spk_0 and in such shocking, unforeseeable circumstances, vigils and commemorations for these Canadian victims

spk_0 have marked each anniversary of the event, often held in communities across Canada, as well as

spk_0 on the beaches where the tsunami struck. For relatives, the distance and suddenness of the tragedy

spk_0 have made morning an ongoing process as described by those who returned to Thailand each year to

spk_0 lay flowers at memorial sites and reconnect with the places where their loved ones spent their

spk_0 final days. Their stories, while sometimes overshadowed by the larger toll in Asia, remain embedded

spk_0 in the wider tragedy, part of the global wound left by the tsunami. Each Canadian victim left

spk_0 behind families, colleagues and friends who have worked over the years to memorialize them,

spk_0 ensuring that those who died so far from home are not forgotten and that their loss echoes beyond

spk_0 the headlines. And that's it for dark-patine episode 391 Canadian Connections, the 2004 Boxing Day

spk_0 tsunami.

spk_0 That's right, it's time for voicemails. You can leave us a message at 1-877-327-5786 or 1-877-DARK-PTN.

spk_0 We'd love to hear from you. Let's see who called us this week. Here's our voicemail for the week.

spk_0 Yes, it's wondering if you had done anything on the Robert Lattimer case. I remember it's quite well,

spk_0 absolute tragedy that was the life of his daughter. On side note,

spk_0 Autiasbor and I wrote a song about the case and it was really not much to it. I don't think, but

spk_0 I think it's worth mentioning. In his situation, I don't know what I would do. I don't

spk_0 anyways have gotten... All righty. Well, yeah, the Robert Lattimer case, if for those who aren't aware,

spk_0 he was convicted of second-degree murder in the death of his daughter, Tracy Lynn.

spk_0 And it caused a national controversy concerning the definition and ethics of euthanasia as well

spk_0 as the rights of people with disabilities. And this case, I don't feel I'm qualified to tackle it.

spk_0 I honestly don't. Yeah, for the caller, Mike and I have actually talked about this case.

spk_0 Yeah. A lot of times. It's so fraught that I just... I kind of don't want to do it either,

spk_0 just because there's no answer. There's no clarity. It's difficult.

spk_0 Right. It's so difficult. It's so difficult. Yeah, I mean, I don't want to say he did the right

spk_0 thing. I don't want to say he did the wrong thing because honestly, it's not on my business.

spk_0 It's not on my business. As somebody though who's been through made with my father, he was

spk_0 cognizant of his decision. He made the decision. He was completely competent person at the time.

spk_0 And to me, that, you can't argue with that. But yeah, Lattimer's case is so tough. And if you want

spk_0 to listen to the Aussie Osborne song, it's just called Lattimer's Mercy. Just go have a listen.

spk_0 I had no idea that Latt-Aziroda song about that. He definitely did.

spk_0 Yeah, this is not one I don't think that we will ever cover. And like I say, for the reasons that

spk_0 I am so not qualified to do with this. And we don't blame me for asking.

spk_0 Yeah, oh no. We've debated it as well. Yeah. Thanks for calling in.

spk_0 It's one of those ones where like, you know, we've been torn and had discussions and kind of

spk_0 decided no. Yeah, it's a, yeah, it's one of those ones where I don't know. I, yeah, I don't, I don't

spk_0 want to be making any judgments on that case at all. I really don't. What do you think our,

spk_0 our caller does for a living Matthew and where do they live? I have suspicions, but

spk_0 because I can see like an exchange and all like this stuff. I can't see the exchange. Yeah.

spk_0 I think he's in outside of Calgary near the Donnis, near that dinosaur town. Okay, Drum Heller,

spk_0 near Drum Heller. I want to go there so badly. Yeah. And I think he's a historian.

spk_0 Oh, interesting. I'm picturing like he has a library at home with lots of books, lots and lots and lots of

spk_0 books. Okay. Yeah. Well, there you go. Well, I have a library with lots of books, but I'm not a

spk_0 historian of any description. You have mostly Japanese picture books, don't you? No.

spk_0 I have a little shelf of manga. Yes, I do. Just, but it's only one shelf. Most of my books are

spk_0 supernatural paranormal, uh, locality stuff. My mind are mostly, uh, philosophy and death.

spk_0 Well, there's that too. I have lots of that too. So, hey, look, we have common things, Matthew.

spk_0 Anyway, that's it for this week's voicemails. Again, you can leave us one at 1877-327-5786,

spk_0 or 1877-DARK-PTN. We'd love to hear from you, even if it is just to say hi and to tell us to go

spk_0 shit in our hats. If you're stumped for what to chat with us about, a quick story is welcome.

spk_0 We do have a patron this week, and our patron's name is Jennifer. She didn't leave a last name.

spk_0 She didn't leave a place where she lives. So, I'm curious about Jennifer. Thank you for being a

spk_0 Patreon Jennifer. Yes, thank you. Um, where does Jennifer live? And what do she do? Matthew? Jennifer,

spk_0 her last name is Bobenny. Oh, Jenny Jenny Bobenny. Yeah, I can. Gotcha. Gotcha. So, Jennifer,

spk_0 Bobenny. Jennifer, Bobenny is a poet. She's a poet, but does she even realize it? She does. She's not

spk_0 a lot of cheese and Wisconsin. Is there? Yeah, an Edgene and Jeffrey Dahmer. Happy days.

spk_0 Jeffrey Dahmer, is that Wisconsin? Yes, it was. No, that's Milwaukee. Yeah, where's Milwaukee, Matthew?

spk_0 Uh, Milwaukee is in Ohio. Is that? No. Okay. I don't know these things. Well, you don't need to.

spk_0 This isn't like, like a Matthew's geography podcast. You don't need to know those things.

spk_0 Yes, now Matthew's brain is turning. Is it near Pennsylvania? I don't know. I don't think so.

spk_0 Well, you're Mr. obvious geography guru here. Well, no.

spk_0 No, Pennsylvania is more East. Okay, I'm not good at sort of those bits when you get past Chicago.

spk_0 I'm assuming it's past Chicago. Well, it's kind of in that area in that region. I kind of, I know,

spk_0 I know, I knew, I know like the main, like New England and New York, all those middle states over

spk_0 to Detroit, over to Chicago and then down a little bit and then I know Florida. Right. And then I

spk_0 fluck in our USA's Weiner, Florida. Right. And then I know Texas California pretty well in terms

spk_0 of where the cities are there. But the rest of it sort of, oh, and I know Arizona, because my grandmother

spk_0 that there, the rest of it's in a Nigma. Well, there you go. Maybe our American friends can call in

spk_0 and help Matthew with his geography and help me with mine, frankly, but anyway.

spk_0 You can easily find dark patine on Apple podcast Spotify or wherever you listen to your favorite

spk_0 shows. If you haven't gotten yours yet, my two books are available to order via links on the dark

spk_0 patine website or anywhere fine books are sold. And speaking of darkpatine.com, check it out for

spk_0 show notes and other cool stuff. We'd appreciate it if you gave dark patina like or a follow on

spk_0 Facebook and Instagram. Most importantly, thank you for listening. Tell your friends about us.

spk_0 Word of mouth is a powerful thing. And that's it for this episode of dark patine. Thank you for

spk_0 listening. And don't forget to be a good egg and not a bad apple. Goodbye. Bye.

Canadian Connections: The 2004 Boxing Day Tsunami

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