# 10-year-old girl saved hundreds from tsunami **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [January 2, 2005, 8:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/10-year-old-girl-saved-hundreds-from-tsunami/282674 "2005-01-02T08:20:04Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![jjimm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba8739/32.png) [@jjimm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jjimm)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2005, 8:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/10-year-old-girl-saved-hundreds-from-tsunami/282674/1 "2005-01-02T08:20:04Z")
[The benefits of education](http://www.sky.com/skynews/article/0,,30000-13274436,00.html)! > [@](#): > > …she said she had just finished a school project on tsunamis and thought one was minutes away. > > Tilly, from Oxshott, in Surrey, told 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 parents warned hotel staff and holidaymakers who fled the beach and escaped without serious injury when the tsunami struck. What a great story in the midst of all the tragedy. ---
**Author:** ![matt\_mcl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/7ab992/32.png) [@matt\_mcl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/matt_mcl)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2005, 9:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/10-year-old-girl-saved-hundreds-from-tsunami/282674/2 "2005-01-02T09:10:34Z")
Wow. Go, little girl! ---
**Author:** ![TJdude825](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/dec6dc/32.png) [@TJdude825](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TJdude825)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2005, 9:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/10-year-old-girl-saved-hundreds-from-tsunami/282674/3 "2005-01-02T09:19:18Z")
I bet her lab partner feels stupid now for thinking, “Sure, now I can recognize a tsunami before it comes. But seriously, when is that ever going to happen? :rolleyes:” Anyway, hooray for that little girl! ---
**Author:** ![DMark](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e68b1a/32.png) [@DMark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DMark)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2005, 10:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/10-year-old-girl-saved-hundreds-from-tsunami/282674/4 "2005-01-02T10:16:58Z")
I wondered about that. I am not a beach person by any means, but if I saw the water first being sucked back out to sea (which is what I think happened, correct me if I am wrong) I would have immediately run like hell. Not that it would have saved me, as I believe the water came in pretty damned fast, but I would have at least been heading for high(er) ground. Still, have to applaud the little girl for being so observant and not being afraid to let the others know! ---
**Author:** ![jjimm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba8739/32.png) [@jjimm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jjimm)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2005, 10:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/10-year-old-girl-saved-hundreds-from-tsunami/282674/5 "2005-01-02T10:21:21Z")
And applaud her parents for listening to her, and not dismissing her fears. ---
**Author:** ![lavenderviolet](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/cdc98d/32.png) [@lavenderviolet](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lavenderviolet)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2005, 11:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/10-year-old-girl-saved-hundreds-from-tsunami/282674/6 "2005-01-02T11:27:23Z")
WOW! That’s a very cool story. Now that I read about it I can remember that I too have heard something about the water acting strangely right before a tsunami. However, I doubt I would have had the presence of mind to recall that and make the connection if I had been on the beach at that time. What a heroic family. It’s great to read a story like that. ---
**Author:** ![Jennyrosity](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/2bfe46/32.png) [@Jennyrosity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jennyrosity)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2005, 11:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/10-year-old-girl-saved-hundreds-from-tsunami/282674/7 "2005-01-02T11:36:23Z")
Isn’t that amazing? And is it just me, or does that little girl strike anyone else as a real-life Lisa Simpson? ---
**Author:** ![Rayne\_Man](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/df705f/32.png) [@Rayne\_Man](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rayne_Man)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2005, 11:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/10-year-old-girl-saved-hundreds-from-tsunami/282674/8 "2005-01-02T11:48:27Z")
I hate to question the validity of this story but I noticed that it originally appeared in the _Sun_ This is the same paper that that bought you " Freddy Star Eat My Hamster " and has had to pay out thousands of pounds in libel damages for not telling the truth. I may be wrong but I am always very wary of these sort of stories when they are featured in the tabloids. Just call me cynical. ---
**Author:** ![legion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/838e76/32.png) [@legion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/legion)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2005, 11:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/10-year-old-girl-saved-hundreds-from-tsunami/282674/9 "2005-01-02T11:49:32Z")
I’d just like to point out that The Sun is the type of newspaper with a reputation for making up things like this. Still, if it’s true, good on the little girl! ---
**Author:** ![AngelicGemma](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/439d5e/32.png) [@AngelicGemma](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AngelicGemma)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2005, 12:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/10-year-old-girl-saved-hundreds-from-tsunami/282674/10 "2005-01-02T12:58:24Z")
Nice story if true. ---
**Author:** ![johncole](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/5f9b8f/32.png) [@johncole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/johncole)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2005, 1:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/10-year-old-girl-saved-hundreds-from-tsunami/282674/11 "2005-01-02T13:22:40Z")
> [@Rayne Man](#): > > I hate to question the validity of this story but I noticed that it originally appeared in the _Sun_ This is the same paper that that bought you " Freddy Star Eat My Hamster " and has had to pay out thousands of pounds in libel damages for not telling the truth. I may be wrong but I am always very wary of these sort of stories when they are featured in the tabloids. Just call me cynical. I must admit to the same reservation when reading such stories in any newspaper. However, the original story in the Sun identified the beach and the hotel by name, and included a quote from the general manager (also named) which seemed to give credence to the report. It would be a simple exercise to prove or disprove the story (but I am too lazy to do it - nothing on Snopes, yet). ---
**Author:** ![teela\_brown](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/d9b06d/32.png) [@teela\_brown](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/teela_brown)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2005, 3:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/10-year-old-girl-saved-hundreds-from-tsunami/282674/12 "2005-01-02T15:27:54Z")
I had just finished reading Michener’s _Hawaii_ a couple of months ago. He wrote a vivid scene about a tsunami, and it was preceded by exactly this scenario - the ocean first pulled back, leaving fish flapping. Had I been in the tsunami region at this time, I think I would have remembered the description and run like hell. But, as has been pointed out, I probably still would have gotten creamed anyway. ---
**Author:** ![jjimm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba8739/32.png) [@jjimm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jjimm)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2005, 3:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/10-year-old-girl-saved-hundreds-from-tsunami/282674/13 "2005-01-02T15:59:01Z")
You might not believe me, but having spoken to a few Fleet Street reporters, it seems the Sun’s news reporting is _usually_ fairly accurate, albeit frequently “twisted by knaves to make a trap for fools”. They may have exaggerated the story, but there’s a chance of a kernel of truth to the story. Uncorroborated celebrity gossip is another thing all together. ---
**Author:** ![GorillaMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/50afbb/32.png) [@GorillaMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GorillaMan)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2005, 4:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/10-year-old-girl-saved-hundreds-from-tsunami/282674/14 "2005-01-02T16:09:38Z")
Sure, it originated in the Sun. But if [Time Europe](http://www.time.com/time/europe/magazine/article/0,13005,901050110-1013203,00.html) accepts it as valid, you’ve got more work to do to discredit it. ‘People interest’ stories get into the Sun because that’s the biggest paper, and people are most likely to go to the paper they’re most familiar with. (The Freddy Starr story is remembered precisely because it was way beyond even what is accepted within the tabloid press.) Anyway, good on her. ---
**Author:** ![dare\_devil007](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/3bc359/32.png) [@dare\_devil007](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dare_devil007)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2005, 5:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/10-year-old-girl-saved-hundreds-from-tsunami/282674/15 "2005-01-02T17:37:43Z")
That’s a wonderful little girl who proved it pays to pay attention in school. It’s a good thing her parents listened to her. My parents probably would have thought I was experiencing another fit of paranoia or something. :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![UncleRojelio](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/unclerojelio/32/3160_2.png) [@UncleRojelio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UncleRojelio)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2005, 6:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/10-year-old-girl-saved-hundreds-from-tsunami/282674/16 "2005-01-02T18:48:39Z")
Not that this has anything to do with the 10 yr old girl, but [this story](http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=516&e=1&u=/ap/tsunami_sea_gypsies) tells about a group of Thais that knew enought to get to high ground when the sea pulled back. ---
**Author:** ![gardentraveler](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gardentraveler/32/3576_2.png) [@gardentraveler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gardentraveler)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2005, 1:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/10-year-old-girl-saved-hundreds-from-tsunami/282674/17 "2005-01-03T01:14:39Z")
[Same story on MSNBC, from Reuters, but quoting the Sun interview.](http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/6777621/) GT ---
**Author:** ![Leaper](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/4bbf92/32.png) [@Leaper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaper)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2005, 1:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/10-year-old-girl-saved-hundreds-from-tsunami/282674/18 "2005-01-03T01:42:03Z")
Kudos also to the hotel officials who took this little girl and her parents seriously, and didn’t ignore them for fear of “scaring the guests.” ---
**Author:** ![fierra](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/58956e/32.png) [@fierra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fierra)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2005, 5:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/10-year-old-girl-saved-hundreds-from-tsunami/282674/19 "2005-01-03T05:04:45Z")
It may have saved you if you ran then - there was an interview with (iirc) a British guy on the tv over here - and he said he saw the water going out when he was at the beach, and saw people follow it out in bemusement and was yelling at them to come back in & run, and they waved at him amicably, not hearing or listening, and he grabbed his wife and kids and ran. He got several hundred metres inland, and the water still came up to his neck when it came in, but they all survived. ---
**Author:** ![fifty-six](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/5daacb/32.png) [@fifty-six](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fifty-six)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2005, 5:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/10-year-old-girl-saved-hundreds-from-tsunami/282674/20 "2005-01-03T05:14:43Z")
Its a good story true or not [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/10-year-old-girl-saved-hundreds-from-tsunami/282674.md?page=2)