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Wondery subscribers can listen to against the Odds early and ad free right now. Join Wondery in the Wondery app or on Apple Podcasts.
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A listener note against the Odds uses dramatizations that are based on true events. Some elements, including dialogue, may be invented, but everything is based on research. Wonder 34 year old Wacheri Tongtae sits on the front steps of her home in the village of Nam Khem, Thailand. She sticks a knife into a watermelon and cuts off two slices. Her daughters, eight year old Raati Khan and three year old Sudharat, eagerly hold out their hands. Watchari smiles at them as she hands them the fruit. It's late morning on December 26, 2004, an already a bright warm day. Guacheri loves where she lives, just a few feet from the beach. From her porch she can see the white sand glittering from between the stands of palm trees. She goes back to slicing the watermelon, but then a commotion distracts her. It sounds like people are arguing on the beach. She tilts her head, but she's too far away to make out what they're saying, and she can't see who it is. She shrugs. It's probably a squabble among fishermen. Still, she wonders if it might concern her husband, Wiman. He's a fisherman himself and he left early this morning with his brother to fish from their boat a few miles out to sea. As the commotion continues, Wacheri decides she should make sure that Wime's not involved. She tells her daughters to stay put and walks toward the sound of the voices. A few seconds later, she steps through the stand of palms onto the beach. But instead of fishermen fighting, she finds a group of her neighbors gathered on the sand. They're pointing toward the horizon, talking excitedly. Guacheri follows their gaze and can't believe what she sees. A massive wave stretching across the entire horizon. It's at least 10ft high, probably more, and it's not far off either, maybe 500 yards away. She stands there for a few seconds, transfixed, but as it moves closer, she notices that it's not breaking, it's just surging toward them, a steamroller of water that seems to grow larger and larger. She's never seen a wave this big, not in all her years living near the sea. And then she realizes this thing won't stop at the shoreline. When it hits the beach, it's going to keep going. Her mind flashes to her children and she turns around and runs back to her house. They're still on the porch. She scoops up three year old Sudarat in one arm and grabs eight year old Ratikant's arm with her free hand. Ratikant pulls back mom, what are you doing? But Wachiri doesn't answer. She just runs, pulling Ratikan along. They reach the road behind their house and Watari flies across it, practically dragging Ratikan through the dirt. Then she sees the pond on the other side. It's a hundred yards wide. Watari pivots, still clutching her daughters. She runs parallel to the beach, now racing to get around the pond. Other villagers are running too. Some are screaming, but the screams are overtaken by the roar of rushing water. Guattari glances toward the ocean, only to see that a mighty surge of water is barreling down on them. It's sweeping through the village, destroying everything in its path. Watcheri comes to a horrifying they can't outrun it. It's going to hit them. She stops running and kneels down, wrapping an arm tightly around each girl and squeezing. She holds them so tightly she wonders if she's going to break their ribs. The water rushes forward. Watcher Ree closes her eyes and braces for impact. In our toughest moments, humans will fight to survive. But luckily we're not often in survival mode. Sometimes we can just sit back and enjoy the ride and no one knows a comfortable ride like OnStar. Enjoy convenient features like Google Assistant to make calls or send texts on the go. Remember where you parked with vehicle, locate and even drive hands free with available Super Cruise Driver assistant tech with OnStar. Your rise can be easier than ever. OnStar better never stops.
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From Wondery I'm Cassie Depechel and this is against the odds. On December 26, 2004, two tectonic plates under the surface of the Indian Ocean shifted violently. The resulting 9.1 magnitude earthquake was one of the most intense ever recorded, releasing energy equivalent to 23,000 of the atomic bombs dropped on Hiroshima. The sudden movement of the tectonic plates lifted the seafloor and displaced massive amounts of water that rippled outwards, racing toward land hundreds and even thousands of miles away. Countries with coastlines bordering the Indian Ocean were now in the path of a giant tsunami. One of those countries was Thailand, where vacationers and residents woke up to a sunny tropical morning oblivious that a monstrous wave was bearing down on them. Caught unprepared, they had just seconds to react as they faced off against the deadliest natural disaster in recorded history. This is episode one. Strange Tide. Ed Moosh cuts the motor on his 43 foot sailing boat, the Tahlequah, and steps from the bridge out onto the deck. He draws a deep breath of the humid tropical air. It's December 24, 2004 and the morning sun is climbing in the east. This is the moment he never tires of when the sea breezes fill the sails of his boat, propelling it out toward the open ocean and new adventures. Today's destination, the secluded Phi Phi Islands of Thailand. So small that vehicles aren't even allowed on them. Ed is 59 and 10 months into a leisurely circumnavigation of the globe with his 68 year old wife Helen and their 23 year old grandson Michael is something he and Helen had wanted to do for years. So when Ed retired at age 55, they bought the sailboat, outfitting it with all the equipment they'd need for long ocean crossings. Autopilot, radar, a high frequency radio and a life raft. They christened her Tahlequah, from a Cherokee word that means two is enough. And while they'd be sailing alone, they wouldn't be completely alone. They signed on to join a flotilla of two dozen other boats, each following the same route around the globe and meeting up at various ports along the way. For the Mouches, it was the best of both worlds. They'd have the experience of sailing independently while knowing a safety net. And kindred spirits were never far away. At least that was the plan. But when they were in Trinidad readying their boat for their big voyage, they received the worst news imaginable. Their 27 year old son Jesse had been killed in a motorcycle crash. For Ed and Helen, the grief was especially intense. Two years earlier, another son, Ian, had also been killed in a motorcycle accident. The pain seemed too much to bear. They attended Jesse's funeral in America, then returned to Trinidad, still deep in mourning. They thought about canceling their trip. But then they realized Jesse would want us to go, so they did. But they brought aboard a third traveler, their grandson Michael. Jesse's death had hit the entire family hard and Ed and Helen figured Michael could benefit from time on the open sea. But 10 months into their trip, the loss of Jesse still hangs over them like a shroud. Each glorious sunset, each new tropical paradise feels diminished by their loss. Occasionally Ed goes below decks and finds Helen sobbing. He tries to comfort her, but what can he say? Ed knows Christmas without Jesse will hit them both especially hard, but he's hopeful that spending it on the Phi Phi Islands will be just the balm they need. It sounds like an amazing place. A chain of pristine, tiny islands southeast of Phuket in the Andaman Sea. He's already seen it before, but only on the big screen. It's where the movie the beach with Leonardo DiCaprio is filmed. He can't wait to see it for himself. A stage stiff breeze billows the sails and the Tahlequah picks up speed over the blue swells. Ed scans the horizon, looking for land. Helen joins him on the deck and the two of them peer over the railings, competing to see who will be the first to spot the remote islands. It's Helen who sees one first, a limestone peak emerging on the horizon. Soon more appear, jutting out of the water. Their destination is the only inhabited island in the archipelago, an island called Phi Phi Don. As Michael pilots Tahlequah into the harbor, Ed can see that Phi Phi Don is more like two islands connected by a narrow isthmus of sand. Hotels and restaurants line the isthmus, all looking out over the bay. They drop anchor in the harbor and lower their small inflatable dinghy into the water. With so many reefs around, the Tahlequah has to stay in deep water, so having a small boat is essential for reaching land. As they motor the dinghy towards shore, Ed marvels at the beauty of the place, even if it does feel clogged with tourists and day trippers. He looks over at Helen, who's staring out to sea. She's smiling, but there's a familiar sadness in her eyes. He reaches over and squeezes her hand. Are you thinking about Jesse? Helen turns to him and nods. It's just that he would have loved this. Now it's Ed's turn to nod. Tell you what, let's find something on the island we can decorate the cabin with. It's Christmas after all. Maybe we can even find a tree. Helen seems to brighten at this and Edge smiles. He knows Christmas without Jesse will be hard, but at least they can be together as a family. 13 year old Monica Ribeiro leans back in her chair as the waiters take away her plate. It's been another amazing dinner at their resort in Khao Wak on the west coast of Thailand, where she and her parents have been vacationing over the Christmas holiday. She stares up at the night sky where the first stars have appeared. The air is thick and warm, and she's decided that today, Christmas 2004 has been the best ever. She has to admit her parents really outdid themselves. When they arrived here a week ago from their home in Macau, they surprised her with an early Christmas present. Five days of scuba diving lessons. Monica was thrilled. Every day while her parents lounged on the beach, she got to do what she's dreamed about since she was little. Learn to explore the sea. She loves it so much underwater. The quiet, the solitude, the colorful fish and coral. It's like another universe. She swears that in a past life she was a mermaid. She can't wait for tomorrow when she gets to go diving again. The only downside is that the resort is set back far from the beach, so they have to take a shuttle to get to it. But she's not complaining. An odd noise draws Monica's attention and she looks over to see the concierge leading an elephant through the palm trees and into an opening near the diners. He invites anyone who's interested to get a photo with the huge animal. Monica looks at her dad. Dad, we need a photo. Her father looks skeptical, but finally he gets up and they all make their way toward the elephant. Monica directs her father closer to the animal, but he's hesitant. She lowers the camera from her eyes and motions for him to move in. Come on, dad. It's not like he's going to step on you. Her father throws a worried look over his shoulder at the massive creature. Yeah. How can you be so sure? He edges cautiously toward the elephant. Monica raises the camera back to her face. Just then, the elephant lets out a trumpet and her father bolts away. Monica laughs. After she fires off a few more frames, they trade places and Monica approaches the elephant confidently. She turns and gives the camera her biggest smile. Smile. But her dad isn't even looking at Monica. He's sharing a laugh with her mother. Monica watches her mom run a hand playfully through her father's black hair. Monica's dad is a pilot and often away from home, so it's nice to see them having fun together. Finally, her dad points the camera at her and Monica strikes a pose next to the elephant. This really is the greatest vacation ever. 50 year old Wiman Tongtae gets up quietly from the bed he shares with his wife, Wacheri. He listens for a moment in the darkness, but she doesn't stir. Sometimes he's too noisy and she wakes up and instead of going back to bed, she gets up to cook him breakfast. Today, though, she's fast asleep. Good, he thinks. She needs it. Raising two young daughters is exhausting. And with Weemon out of the house almost every day before dawn to go fishing, she's often on her own with them. He looks at the clock on the wall. It's just after 4am on December 26, 2004. Through the open kitchen window, he can hear the sound of the waves breaking softly on the beach. He built this house with his own hands before his oldest daughter, Rataquan was born eight years ago. It's a modest home on a sliver of land that fronts the beach of Nam Khem, a village north of Phuket. To Wiman, this is heaven. He tiptoes into his daughter's room to give them kisses on their heads. A few weeks ago, Ratikan broke her leg on a fall from a swing and it's been healing slowly, but she's sleeping peacefully now. He returns to the kitchen, grabs some fruit for lunch and then steps out into the pre dawn darkness. Even though it's early, he already feels like he's running late. Nam Kem is full of fishermen like him and they often race to the best spots. Get there too late and you're out of luck. Within a minute he's on the beach where his brother Phra Kong is loading up the longtail boat. These types of boats are everywhere on the Thai coast. They look like enlarged canoes, but they're powered by outboard motors repurposed from car engines. Wiman's boat is big, 30ft long and 5ft wide, made of wood. Some other fishermen have upgraded to fiberglass boats, which are lighter and faster in the water. But Wiman loves his wooden longtail. It has more character. The two men push off from the beach and Wiman starts the motor. As they drift into deeper water, he lowers the propeller. Propellers on long tailed boats are fastened to the end of long shafts so the boat can move through the big waves that sometimes pop up out to sea. But as the skies above the jungle brighten, Wiman feels like it's going to be a placid day on the water. They motor out of the small bay and head south. He and Phrak Kong, who's sitting at the front of the boat, barely exchange a word. They've been doing this for so long that their movements are automatic. At the back of the boat, Weeman turns the accelerator handle and feels the boat pick up speed. He hopes to fill at least four buckets with fish. Today, seismologist Barry Hirshhorn wakes up from a nap at the sound of the alert on his pager. He glances at his watch. It's just after 3pm here in Hawaii on December 25th. He gets up from the cot that's laid out in the break room of the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center. This kind of alert means only one thing. There's been an earthquake somewhere on the ocean floor. He hurries into the control room, where his colleague Stu Weinstein is staring at a computer screen. What do we got, Stu? Stu doesn't look up, engrossed by the data that's coming in. It's huge. The first notices came from two seismic stations in Australia, but now we're getting readings from monitoring stations all over South Asia. It looks like it's centered in the Indian Ocean, west of Indonesia. Barry does some mental math. That part of the world is 17 hours ahead of them, which means it's the morning of December 26, the day after Christmas. Then Stu says something that makes Barry's blood run cold. BARRY it's at least an 8. Probably more. Barry's eyes go wide. Earthquakes of a magnitude 8 on the Richter scale are rare, which is good because they can be monumentally destructive, especially when they occur undersea, like this one. That's because if the quake causes the seafloor to shift, it displaces all the water above it. The result will be a tsunami that will radiate outward at tremendous speeds. And when a tsunami hits land, it can destroy everything in its path. Then a shudder goes through Barry. As its name suggests, the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center's mission is to monitor and send out alerts for the Pacific Ocean. But this tsunami will strike the Indian Ocean, which has no alert system, because tsunamis there are extremely rare. And to make matters worse, Barry and his team have no official channels for getting a warning to countries in this wave's path. Barry goes to the wall and looks at the map, which is centered on the Pacific. His eyes drift to the bottom left. He runs a finger over Indonesia and Thailand, and he shudders to think of the destruction that may be heading right at them.
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The morning sun shines on Ed Moosh's face as he hoists himself out of the motorized dinghy and splashes into the shallow water off the beach on Phi Phi don Island. It's December 26th and he and his wife, Helen, are heading into the town in search of breakfast. Ed grabs an anchor off the floorboards, then drops it into the clear water, careful not to hit his bare feet. He extends a hand to Helen and helps her out of the boat. They start to wade the quarter mile to the beach. Helen looks at him with a wry smile. You think we should have woken up Michael? Ed laughs. Their 23 year old grandson got back to the boat late last night. Very late. Ed is sure the young man will be asleep until at least noon. Maybe he'll be up just in time to join us for dinner. Christmas yesterday was lovely. Ed, Helen, and Michael exchanged gifts on board, surrounding a little fake Christmas tree that Ed bought in a souvenir shop. Later, they all went ashore to gather at a restaurant with friends they'd met on their circumnavigation. Ed's late son, Jesse, was never far from his mind, but he found comfort in the nearness of family and support of friends, and Helen seems to have felt it too. After they have breakfast, they go to an Internet cafe to check their email, then order two coffees to go. Hand in hand, they stroll along the boardwalk that faces the beach. This strip of sand and boardwalk that connects the two ends of the pp. Dawn is narrow, just a few hundred yards wide. Ed stops to look in the window of a souvenir shop. Then he hears Helen's voice. Ed, where did all the water in the bay go? Ed turns and looks toward the bay where less than an hour ago they'd anchored their dinghy. But the water is gone. Where once there was water is now exposed seabed and reefs. Fish flop desperately, the sun glinting off their scales. It's as if the bay is a giant bathtub whose plug has just been pulled. Everyone along the boardwalk has stopped, transfixed by the sight. Helen points at the dinghy. It's where they left it, maybe a quarter mile from the beach. But instead of floating in three feet of water, it's resting atop a shelf of wet rock. Ed has an unsettling thought. Oh my God, what if Tahlequah is grounded, too? But then he realizes how absurd that sounds. It can't be grounded. They anchored the sailboat in 20ft of water. He peers into the distance and is reassured when he sees its mast bobbing in the waves. What a relief. Helen turns to him. This is the strangest tide I've ever seen. Yeah, if we're going to get back to Tahlequah anytime soon, I guess we'll have to drag the dinghy to the water. Helen nods and they start the long, slippery walk across the exposed seabed toward their little boat. Seismologist Barry Hirshhorn slams the phone down in frustration and stares out the window of the Pacific Tsunami Warning center in Honolulu, Hawaii. From the west, the late afternoon sun casts a golden glow on the palm trees that line the parking lot below, but he doesn't even notice. All he's focused on is trying to get a tsunami warning to Indonesia, Thailand, and other countries near the massive undersea earthquake his team detected 30 minutes ago. But so far their efforts have been in vain. He turns toward the set of international clocks on the wall. It's almost 10:30am in Thailand. Assuming there is a tsunami, it will hit the country's west coast any minute. If this were a tsunami in the Pacific Ocean, Barry would know what to do. There are protocols in place for countries like Japan and the Philippines to warn people to evacuate the coast and flee to higher ground. But the center's alert system does not extend to countries bordering the Indian Ocean. So Barry and his Colleagues are trying to raise government officials in those countries by phone. It's felt futile, though. They don't know who to call, and even if they reach someone, language barriers mean they can't get the message across. Barry walks over to his colleague, Stu Weinstein, whose eyes have been glued to his computer monitor ever since the alarm went off. Barry leans over Stu's shoulder. What's the latest data say? Stu shakes his head, eyes still fixed on the scrolling numbers on his screen. The fault line is enormous. It's at least 800 miles long and the magnitude readings keep going up. Finally, Stu turns in his chair and meets Barry's gaze. The initial tremors lasted for over eight minutes. I think this one is going to come in at over a nine. Barry feels dumbstruck. A nine on the Richter scale stretched over 800 miles. It defies belief this would be one of the largest earthquakes in recorded history, and that means it's almost certainly creating one of the largest tsunamis in recorded history. Barry imagines two vast sections of the Earth's crust, one sliding under another deep on the ocean floor. Then he imagines it lifting all the water above it until gravity brings the water back down and sends a wave in all directions. Over deep water. The wave will be small, barely a foot high. Someone on a boat in the middle of the ocean might feel just a small bump, but as a tsunami nears land and the depth of the water becomes shallower, the wave will get higher. And like all ocean waves, tsunamis have a trough, a shallow dip in the water that precedes the wave. What's especially devious about some tsunamis is that the trough can be massive, sucking the water away from shore like a strong tide. Without a tsunami warning, people will often walk out onto the beach to watch the strange occurrence when they should be running for higher ground. Barry looks at the the clock again, feeling helpless. If they can't reach the right authorities, he can't imagine how many people are probably still on the beaches, completely unaware of the danger they're in. Monica Ribeiro gets out of the shuttle bus in the village of Kao La and waits impatiently as her parents pay the fare. It's almost 10:30 in the morning and they're only now getting to the beach. After last night's Christmas dinner at the resort, she and her parents overslept. They missed the hotel's free shuttle to the beach, and then it took her father forever to convince the hotel to run the bus again for a fee. Monica shuffles her feet anxiously. They have just a Few days left in Thailand before they fly back home to Macau, and she wants to spend every minute she can in the water. Finally, her father gets his chance from the driver, and they start making their way through the stands of palm trees toward the beach. But when she gets to the beach, she stops dead in her tracks. The water, which is usually lapping gently onto the sand, is nowhere to be seen. She turns back to her father. Dad, what happened to the ocean? I'm not sure. Must be a low tide. Her mother arranges their towels on the sand. She doesn't seem bothered that the water is now 100 yards away. But Monica is annoyed. Now she can't even snorkel. But beyond that, there's something eerie about it all. There's just so much exposed seabed. Boats that had been anchored in the water are now marooned in the sand. A number of people are wandering around, pointing further out to sea. For a second, she wants to go back to the resort. At least there she can swim in the pool. But then she remembers how hard her father worked to arrange for the shuttle. And how her parents surprised her with scuba diving lessons this week. She doesn't want to come across as ungrateful or petulant. So when her father suggests that they go explore what the receding ocean has exposed, she agrees. And what they find are fish, dying fish. It pains Monica to see them struggling, suffocating, without water. When she and her dad find depressions in the seabed where the water is pooled, they throw the fish in them. But there are so many. There's no way they can save them all. Then she hears her father cry out in pain. She turns around, and he's lifted up his bare foot. It's bleeding. Ah, this coral is sharp. Monica nods. You probably should have worn flip flops like me. Are you okay? Yeah. But it hurts to walk on. I'm going to go back to Mom. Don't go out too far. I won't. As her father heads back toward her mom, Monica resumes her walk. She passes a longtail boat, now lodged in the muck. She finds these vessels fascinating, so she stops to look more closely at the ornate carvings in its wood. Then, from a distance, she hears her mother's voice screaming her name. Monica jerks her head around toward the tree line and sees in the distance, her mother waving frantically. It looks like she's trying to get Monica's attention, trying to get her to hurry back to the beach. Her mom must be worried that she's strained too far out onto the exposure. Exposed seabed. Monica sighs. She's 13. When will her mom trust that she can take care of herself? Monica starts to head back in their direction, and as she gets closer, she hears her mother's voice again. Only this time, what she screams is just one word. Run. Wiman Tongtae sits back in his longtail boat and bites into a slice of watermelon. He and Prakong decided to take lunch early, given how successful the morning's catch was. They've been fishing since just after dawn, and now, close to 10:30am they filled four large buckets with fish, hitting their goal for the whole day. After lunch, they'll take the fish to the market. Wiman looks around as he eats. The sun is beating down on them relentlessly, and he squints as he counts the other longtail boats. There are at least two dozen. He recognizes some of them as his neighbors back in Nam Khem, about six miles north up the coastline. His gaze drifts down toward the water, and his chewing slows. A few minutes ago, this water was crystal clear. Now it's cloudy, as if something has been churning the seafloor. He leans over the side of his boat and peers closer. That's weird, he thinks. Even though it's murky, he can see rocks, but they were in several dozen feet of water before. Even when the water was clear, there was no way to see the seabed at this depth. He looks toward the beach, which has grown in size. The tide has gone out, he realizes. He calls out to his brother, who's sitting at the other end of the boat. You see that? Perkong nods. Yeah. It's strange. Hey, cut me off another slice of watermelon. Wiman grabs the knife and goes to cut off another slice. Just then he feels his body pressing down into his seat. The watermelon rolls off his lap and the knife clatters to the floor of the boat. For a second he thinks they've been rammed by another longtail. He tries to sit up, but the force keeping him down is too great. A split second later, the momentum reverses and he's weightless as the boat and everything in it starts plummeting down. He looks toward the beach, but it's hidden behind a massive wall of water. That must be what he felt just now, a huge swell that lifted their boat and then dropped it down again. And as it moves over shallower water, its height grows until it blocks the view of the entire coastline, trees and all. It's that huge. And then Wiman hears screams.
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Morning, Zoe.
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Got Donuts Jeff Bridges why are you still living above our garage?
- [34:54]
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Well I dig the mattress and I want to be in a T mobile commercial like you. Teach me.
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Saldana oh no, I'm not really prepared. I couldn't possibly at T Mobile get the new iPhone 17 Pro on them. It's designed to be the most powerful iPhone yet and has the ultimate pro camera system.
- [35:13]
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Wow. Impressive. Let me try. T Mobile is the best place to get iPhone 17 Pro because they've got the best network.
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Nice. Jeffrey.
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You heard them. T mobile is the best place to get the new iPhone 17 Pro on on us with eligible traded in any condition. So what are we having for lunch?
- [35:31]
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Dude, my work here is done.
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The 24 month build credit experience beyond for well qualified customers plus tax and $35 device connection charge credits ended balance due if you pay off earlier Cancel Finance agreement. IPhone 17 Pro 256 gigs $1099.99 and new line minimum $100 plus a month plan with auto pay plus taxes and fees required. Best mobile network in the US based on analysis by Oakland Speed Test Intelligence data 1H 2025 visit t mobile.com.
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Derry is a beautiful place, but things do happen from time to time.
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A New H Series Folks are getting funny ideas.
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Keep the people you love close. Your lives depend on begins here there's something here. Something bad.
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It welcome to Daring. Streaming Sundays at 9pm exclusively on HBO MA.
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Olivia Hsu squints out the side of the covered boat as it nears the Emerald cave, just off Thailand's southwest coast. Olivia is 17 and lives in Malaysia. Every year the Siouxs take a big family trip to Thailand, and this year they've decided to visit one of Thailand's most famous attractions, the Emerald Cave. It's on the island of Kamu, and the cave leads to a secluded lagoon with a gorgeous interior beach surrounded by limestone cliffs on all sides. The Hsu family are taking up a lot of seats on the boat. Olivia and her mother are there, plus her stepfather, her brother, his girlfriend and her two sisters. Finally, the boat slows as the pilot cuts the motor, Olivia sees the opening in the rock, just six 60ft away. The only access to Emerald Cave is through a long tunnel whose roof sits just above the waterline. Because the opening is so small, boats can't fit, so if you want to get to the secluded beach, you have to swim through the tunnel or ride a jet ski. Everyone on the boat stands up and gets ready to jump into the water, but Olivia looks down to see her mother still in her seat. Come on, Mom. It's to time. Time. But her mom casts a worried look at the tunnel. A group of visitors is emerging and they look tired from the swim. Maybe I'll just stay here. You can't. We came all this way and it won't be the same without you. Her mom still hesitates. Please, Mom, I really want you to come. Besides, you'll be bored just sitting on the boat waiting for us. Okay, okay, I'll go. Olivia smiles and they all don life jackets before getting into the warm waters. Some guests dive right off the boat's edge, but Olivia's mom climbs carefully down into the water, her life jacket snug around her. The Sues swim slowly toward the tunnel. Once inside the narrow opening, Olivia sees there's a rope stretched along the tunnel's length that they can use to haul themselves forward. Olivia decides she'll just swim, but her mother holds onto the rope. Olivia grins. See, her mom had nothing to worry about. The tunnel is 260ft long and they're about 100ft into it when Olivia senses something strange. It's a sound, a deep sound that seems to be getting louder. It's coming from behind them. She turns around and sees through the opening a huge wave bearing down on them. She looks up at the roof of the tunnel just a few feet above her head. There's so much water rushing toward them, she worries that in seconds the tunnel is going to be completely flooded and they're all going to be underwater. She turns and starts swimming as hard as she can toward where the cave opens up onto the beach. If they don't get out of this tunnel fast, they're going to drown. Ed Moosh and his wife, Helen, lift the dinghy and drag it slowly across the muddy seabed. They're trying to haul it back out to the water, but Ed can see they still have a ways to go. It's strange to think that only an hour ago the dinghy was bobbing in three feet of water. Ed grunts, and together the couple moves the boat another few feet. Although the dinghy itself is light, it's powered by a heavy outboard motor, and that's making for a slow, sweaty slog. He straightens up for a minute and wipes his brow. It's just after 10:30 in the morning, but it's already sweltering. He's excited to get the dinghy back in the water so they can return to the Tahlequah. He wants to relax, maybe go for a swim. Their grandson Michael, who they left sleeping aboard the Tahlequah must be wondering where they are. Ed looks out toward the waterline, which is still a few hundred yards away. A large powerboat is cutting through the water. In the distance. It appears to be headed in their direction. Ed wonders if the boat's captain knows he's about to run out of water. Sure enough, he sees a cloud of sand kick up as the boat runs aground. Ed shakes his head. That boat's going to need a new propeller, he thinks. Just then, Helen points to the left. Ed sees a fisherman scrambling out of his longtail boat and pulling it onto an exposed sandbar. He catches sight of Ed and Helen and starts waving his arms above his head, pointing at the beach behind them. Helen frowns. What's he saying? Ed's not sure. For a moment Ed and Helen stare at the man, who looks back over his shoulder, then turns again and motions frantically. Ed tries to see what the man was looking at farther out to sea. And then he sees it. A thin white line stretching across where the horizon meets the sky. It's a wave, and it's bigger than any wave Ed has ever seen in his life. Monica Ribeiro breathes heavily as she stares in awe at the wave on the horizon. She's out of breath from rushing back to her parents after her mom yelled for her to run. The wave is huge, an endless line that stretches across the horizon. Next to her, her dad takes photos. He seems entranced. But her mother is frantically packing up their stuff. JJ put the camera down. We have to run. At first, Monica thinks her mom is overreacting because of her recurring nightmares. There. She told Monica about it once, a terrifying image of a huge, relentless wave churning toward her and her loved ones. Monica feels certain that the wave coming in is just the water that will refill the bay. It won't even reach them. But as she watches, it grows bigger and bigger. She sees it reach a gunmetal gray ship that had been beached by the receding tide. Now the wave lifts the boat as if it's a child's bath toy. Then she hears it, a rushing water sound that grows in intensity. She realizes that this isn't going to stop. At the shoreline, the other bystanders on the beach start to run. Her parents yell for Monica to run, too. Monica does as she's told. She sprints toward the treeline. Passing through the stand of palm tree. She looks back and sees her parents running behind her. Her eyes lock onto her father's. She sees something in them she's never seen before fear. And then he screams at her. Go.
- [43:16]
A
Go. Go.
- [43:17]
B
She turns and runs faster. She glances over her shoulder again to see the water is consuming the beach, uprooting beach umbrellas and spitting chairs everywhere. She looks again at her father. Where did mom go? But her dad keeps yelling, his eyes fixed on hers. She tries to run faster, the roar of the water gaining on her. She turns back one more time and now can't see either of her parents, but her father's words echo in her brain. Go.
- [43:47]
A
Go. If you like against the odds, you can binge all episodes early and ad free right now by joining Wondery in the Wondery app or on Apple Podcasts. Prime members can listen ad free on Amazon Music. And before you go, tell us about yourself by filling out a short survey@wondery.com survey.
- [44:12]
B
This is the first episode of our four part series Tsunami in Thailand. A quick note about our scenes. In most cases, we can't know exactly what was said, but everything is based on historical research. If you'd like to learn more about this event, we recommend the books Wave of Destruction by Eric Krause, Rising above the Wave by Edward Moosh and Surviving a tsunami at 13 by Monica Ribeiro Connolly. I'm your host, Cassie Depechel. Steve Fennesee wrote this episode. Sound design by Rob Schieliga. Audio engineer is Sergio Enriquez. Original theme music Scott Velasquez and 2K for frees on sync. Fact checking by Alyssa Jung Perry Produced by Emily Frost. Managing producer is Desi Blaylock. Senior producers are Andy Herman and Austin Rackless. Executive producers are Jenny Lahr Beckman and Marshall Louie for wondering.
- [45:16]
A
Okay, Carrie, you ready? Quick, quick, quick. List three gifts you'd never give a.
- [45:20]
B
Cowboy, lacy bobby socks, a diamond bracelet.
- [45:25]
A
And a gift certificate to Sephora. Oh my God, that's outrageous. Carrie. Oh wait, we're recording a commercial right now. We gotta tell them why we're doing this.
- [45:33]
B
Oh yeah, sorry, pod listeners. Okay, so we're five besties who've been friends for 45 million years. And we love games. So of course we made our own.
- [45:41]
A
It's called Quick, quick, Quick. You just pick a card and have your partner give three answers to an outrageous question. It's fast, fun, fantastic, and a bunch of other funny adjectives.
- [45:50]
B
Anyone can play your mom, your dad, your kitten, your kids, your Auntie Edna, and even your butcher.
- [45:55]
A
And you know what's incredible? There are no wrong answers. Just open your brain and say what's in it. Just quickly.
- [46:01]
B
And you're not going to believe this. Well, you might once you start playing. It's as much fun to watch as it is to play.
- [46:07]
A
Seriously. So get up and go. Grab your copy now. At target and Amazon. Quick, quick, quick.
- [46:13]
B
It's the fastest way to have fun.