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10 year old girl saves 100 lives/the value of paying attenton in class

only a small part of article, the full article will probably be online in a couple of days....

Quote:

EXCLUSIVE
From DUNCAN LARCOMBE
in Phuket, Thailand

A BRITISH girl aged ten saved 100 tourists from the tsunami — thanks to a geography lesson.

Tilly Smith, who studied the huge waves in school two weeks before Christmas, realised a Thai beach was about to be swamped when the tide shot out.

She and mum Penny, of Oxshott, Surrey, raised the alarm and the sands were evacuated.

http://www.thesun.co.uk/article/0,,2-2004610510,00.html

wow, that's awesome!

holy shit that's cool, she should get a humanitarian award or something like that, I'm at a loss for words!

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sue

wow, that's awesome!

I agree. The full article will come online tomorrow I think, I'll post it when it does.

from http://breakingnews.iol.ie/news/stor...52&p=yz9x5y858

Geography lesson saves Tilly, 10, and family
01/01/2005 - 11:12:50

An alert 10-year-old British girl saved her family and 100 other tourists from the devastating Asian tsunami – because she had learnt about the giant waves in a geography lesson, it emerged today.

Tilly Smith was holidaying with her mother Penny, father Colin and seven-year-old sister Holly on Maikhao beach in Phuket, Thailand, when the tide suddenly rushed out.

As the other tourists watched in amazement, the water began to bubble and the boats on the horizon started to violently bob up and down.

Tilly, who had studied tsunamis in a geography class just two weeks earlier, quickly realised they were in terrible danger.

She told her mother they had to get off the beach immediately and warned there could be a tsunami, according to The Sun newspaper.

She explained she had just completed a school project on the huge waves and said they were seeing the warning signs that a tsunami was minutes away.

Her parents alerted the other holidaymakers and staff at their hotel, which was quickly evacuated.

The wave crashed a few minutes later, but no one on the beach was killed or seriously injured.

Tilly, from Surrey in England, gave the credit to her geography teacher, Andrew Kearney, at Oxshott’s Danes Hill Prep School.

She told The Sun: “Last term Mr Kearney taught us about earthquakes and how they can cause tsunamis.

“I was on the beach and the water started to go funny. There were bubbles and the tide went out all of a sudden.

“I recognised what was happening and had a feeling there was going to be a tsunami. I told mummy.”

Tilly’s mother said she was “very proud” of her daughter, while her headteacher Robin Parfitt said she had “wisdom beyond her years“.

Mr Kearney said he remembered teaching Tilly and her fellow students that after the sea was sucked backwards, the next five to 10 minutes were crucial for people to survive.

He said her quick-witted actions were typical.

“I’m stunned at the news but so relieved she and her family are safe,” he told The Sun. “Tilly is a very bright level-headed girl. Nothing illustrates her character more than her brave actions in a terrifying situation.”

Tilly’s family have decided to finish their holiday in response to pleas from the Thai tourist board.

P.S. Can anyone explain for me why the tide rushes out in advance of a tsunami? Interesting.

Im not sure, something to do with displacement I guess? as the force above the surface leans over itself,m maybe it pulls in the mass below?

I do remember hearing this story before. and I do remember learning that if the sea suddenly pulls out without warning, run for high ground.

Quote:

THE BURNING OF THE RICE FIELDS

Far, far away in Japan, there was once an old man who lived up on a mountain with his grandson. The ground was flat all around his little house on the mountain. The ground was also very rich. So rich that all the rice was planted up there on the mountain.

Many people lived in a village at the bottom of the mountain. They would come up the mountain and work in the rice fields everyday. Every morning and evening, the old man and his grandson would look down from the mountain at all the people
who were working in the village. They would also watch the blue sea that was next to the village.

There was no place to grow rice down at the bottom of the mountain because the sea was so near. The only things between the mountain and the sea were people and houses. That was why all the rice was grown on the mountain.

The little boy loved the rice fields. The rice was tall and beautiful. The boy knew how delicious the rice was that came from the fields. He loved to help his grandfather watch over them.

One day, the grandfather was standing alone in front of his house. He was looking far down at the people, and out at the sea. Then, he saw something very strange far away
where the sea met the sky. It looked like a large cloud was growing up out of the sea.
It was like the sea was growing up high into the sky.

The old man put his hands to his eyes and looked again. He looked and looked as hard as he could. Then he turned around and ran to the house.

ìGrandson! Grandson!î he cried, ìhurry, get a burning stick from the fire!î

The little boy did not know what his grandfather wanted with fire, but he always listened. He ran quickly and got the burning stick. The old man already had one, and he was running to the rice fields. The boy ran after him. But it was terrible for the boy to see his grandfather throw his burning stick into the dry rice field.

ìOh, Grandfather, Grandfather!î screamed the little boy, ìwhat are you doing?î

ìQuick, set fire to the rice field! Throw your stick in!î said the grandfather.

The boy was thinking his dear grandfather had become crazy. He started to cry; but a little boy always listened. Even as he cried, he ran to the rice field and threw in his burning stick. Hot fire ran up the dry rice. It was burning red and yellow. In no time, the field was on fire. Thick black smoke grew up the mountainside. It went up in a terrible black cloud.

Quickly the people at the bottom of the mountain saw that their beautiful rice fields were on fire. Ah, how they ran! Men, women, and children ran up the mountain, running as fast as they could to save the rice. Not one person stayed in the village.

And when they came to the mountain top, and saw the beautiful rice fields all on fire. It was too late to help. They cried out, ìWho has done this? How did it happen?î

ìI set the fields on fire,î said the old man, very sadly.

Still crying the little boy said, ìYes, it was Grandfather that set the fire.î

The people were very angry. They came all around the old man saying, ìWhy? Why?"

The old man only turned and pointed to the sea. ìLook!î he said.

They all turned and looked. And there, where the blue sea had been so quiet, a giant wall of water, reaching up, up high into sky, was coming in. No one could cry out, so terrible was it to see.

The wall of water, a giant wave came in on the land. It went right over the place where the village had been. It hit with a loud crash on the mountainside. The whole mountain shook. One wave, and then one more, came. Then all was water, as far as they could look. At the bottom of the mountain, the village where the people had been was under the sea. But the people were all safe.

When they saw what the old man had done, they honored him over all men, for his smart thinking had saved them all from the tidal wave.

How very awesome. I'll even bet at the time she wasn't even aware of how many lives she was about to save.

Heh... You said Phucket.

In order for a tsunami to form, an enormous amount of water must be displaced by an underwater landslide or earthquake. This displacement translates into a relatively small increase in wave hight, but an increasingly large length, and depth. As this huge amount of water reaches shallow (relative to wave size) water the hight increases by continued water displacement. This water comes from all directions, including before and after the wave front. Thus the removal of shallow waters as they become part of the actual tsunami.

Wow, what a smart little girl. She deserves to be lauded for what she did.

Quote:

Originally Posted by lurkette

Mr Kearney said he remembered teaching Tilly and her fellow students that after the sea was sucked backwards, the next five to 10 minutes were crucial for people to survive.

I've always been under the impression that it was only a few seconds between the sea receeding and a tsunami. I thought it all happened in a rush, but five to ten minutes seems like a lot of time to me. Excellent article and what a cool little girl.

WoW that is very impressive... kinda makes me wish i would've payed attention a bit more in school though.. :(

Wow that's very impressive. She definately needs to be awarded something on the global stage. Makes me scared what I haven't paid attention to in life might cost lives.
But then again I'm fairly certain I was never taught anything of that manner.

Wow. Both of those are awesome stories.

Asta!!

Same story on Yahoo. Definitely pretty impressive!

Quote:

British 'angel' saved hundreds from tsunami with classroom knowledge

Sat Jan 1, 5:13 AM ET

LONDON (AFP) - A 10-year-old British schoolgirl saved the lives of hundreds of people in southern Asia by warning them a wall of water was about to strike, after learning about tsunamis in geography class, British media reported.

Tilly, who has been renamed the "angel of the beach" by the top-selling tabloid The Sun, was holidaying with her family on the Thai island of Phuket when she suddenly grasped what was taking place and alerted her mother.

"Last term Mr Kearney taught us about earthquakes and how they can cause tsunamis," Tilly was quoted as saying by The Sun.

"I was on the beach and the water started to go funny. There were bubbles and the tide went out all of a sudden.

"I recognised what was happening and had a feeling there was going to be a tsunami. I told mummy."

Her intuition was enough to raise the alert and prompt the evacuation of Phuket's Maikhao beach and a neighbouring hotel before the water came crashing in, saving hundreds of people from death and injury.

According to The Sun, no one on Maikhao beach was seriously hurt by the tsunamis that have left more than 125,000 dead and millions homeless around the shores of the Indian Ocean.

The girl's geography teacher, Andrew Kearnay from Surrey in northern England, told the paper he had explained to his class that there was about 10 minutes from the moment the ocean draws out before the tsunami strikes.

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmp...1538&ncid=2337

who dares to say now that geography knowledge is useless!!!

I think it is great how her parents responded to her. So many parents don't listen to what their kids have to say. Let alone do as these parents did and tell everyone else of the warning. Some parents would be afraid to say something because what if their kid was wrong and then they'd look like fools. No matter their reasons for listening and believing I gotta give them some kudos as well.

Gotta give credit to the teacher as well. Usually if a student isn't learning, the teacher isn't teaching to the student. She learned.

The world needs for people such as were involved here. Especially more observant, children who aren't afraid to speak up.

This is amazing. A real positive in the whole catastrophy.

know-it-all brat.

j/k...cool story.

That's very cool. Big props to that girl for sayign something and even bigger props to her parents for actually believing what she said. Most parents I know would just disregard a warning of impending doom coming from their 10 year old child.