Tilly Smith
Encyclopedia
Tilly Smith is a British
girl who, at the age of 10, was credited with saving nearly a hundred foreign tourists at Maikhao Beach in Thailand
by warning beachgoers minutes before the arrival of the tsunami
caused by the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake
.
in Oxshott
, Surrey
. She recognised the symptoms of receding water from the shoreline and frothing bubbles on the surface of the sea and alerted her parents, who warned others on the beach and the staff at the hotel on Phuket
where they were staying. The beach was evacuated before the tsunami reached shore, and was one of the few beaches on the island with no reported casualties.
At Danes Hill Preparatory School a cameraman was allowed to follow Smith around for a day to find out what she normally did at school. Andrew Kearney was also interviewed at the school.
Smith's family declined requests to be interviewed by commercial and national broadcasters, but Smith appeared at the United Nations
in November 2005, meeting Bill Clinton
the UN Special Envoy for Tsunami Relief, and at the first year anniversary in Phuket, as part of the campaign to highlight the importance of education.
Special Award of The Marine Society & Sea Cadets
from Second Sea Lord
, Vice-Admiral Sir James Burnell-Nugent
.
Asteroid 20002 Tillysmith
has been named after her. (See Meanings of asteroid names (20001-21000)
.)
In December 2005, Smith was named "Child of the Year" by the French magazine Mon Quotidien. At the official tsunami commemorations on the first annivrsary of the tsunami held at at Khao Lak
, Thailand on 26 December 2005, she was given the honour of closing the ceremony with a speech to thousands of spectators which read in part:
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
girl who, at the age of 10, was credited with saving nearly a hundred foreign tourists at Maikhao Beach in Thailand
Thailand
Thailand , officially the Kingdom of Thailand , formerly known as Siam , is a country located at the centre of the Indochina peninsula and Southeast Asia. It is bordered to the north by Burma and Laos, to the east by Laos and Cambodia, to the south by the Gulf of Thailand and Malaysia, and to the...
by warning beachgoers minutes before the arrival of the tsunami
Tsunami
A tsunami is a series of water waves caused by the displacement of a large volume of a body of water, typically an ocean or a large lake...
caused by the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake
2004 Indian Ocean earthquake
The 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake was an undersea megathrust earthquake that occurred at 00:58:53 UTC on Sunday, December 26, 2004, with an epicentre off the west coast of Sumatra, Indonesia. The quake itself is known by the scientific community as the Sumatra-Andaman earthquake...
.
Early life
Smith learned about tsunamis in a geography lesson two weeks before the tsunami from her teacher Andrew Kearney at Danes Hill SchoolDanes Hill School
Danes Hill School is an independent preparatory school in Oxshott, Surrey, England. It is the largest coeducational preparatory school in England...
in Oxshott
Oxshott
Oxshott is a village in Surrey, England with a growing population of around 6,100. Neighbouring settlements include: Chessington, Claygate and Cobham. It is situated in fields and woodlands between Esher and Leatherhead on the A244, five minutes by car from both the A3 and the M25 London Orbital...
, Surrey
Surrey
Surrey is a county in the South East of England and is one of the Home Counties. The county borders Greater London, Kent, East Sussex, West Sussex, Hampshire and Berkshire. The historic county town is Guildford. Surrey County Council sits at Kingston upon Thames, although this has been part of...
. She recognised the symptoms of receding water from the shoreline and frothing bubbles on the surface of the sea and alerted her parents, who warned others on the beach and the staff at the hotel on Phuket
Phuket Province
Phuket , formerly known as Thalang and, in Western sources, Junk Ceylon , is one of the southern provinces of Thailand...
where they were staying. The beach was evacuated before the tsunami reached shore, and was one of the few beaches on the island with no reported casualties.
At Danes Hill Preparatory School a cameraman was allowed to follow Smith around for a day to find out what she normally did at school. Andrew Kearney was also interviewed at the school.
Smith's family declined requests to be interviewed by commercial and national broadcasters, but Smith appeared at the United Nations
United Nations
The United Nations is an international organization whose stated aims are facilitating cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress, human rights, and achievement of world peace...
in November 2005, meeting Bill Clinton
Bill Clinton
William Jefferson "Bill" Clinton is an American politician who served as the 42nd President of the United States from 1993 to 2001. Inaugurated at age 46, he was the third-youngest president. He took office at the end of the Cold War, and was the first president of the baby boomer generation...
the UN Special Envoy for Tsunami Relief, and at the first year anniversary in Phuket, as part of the campaign to highlight the importance of education.
Honours and awards
On 9 September 2005 Smith received the Thomas GrayThomas Lomar Gray
Thomas Lomar Gray was a Scottish engineer noted for his pioneering work in seismology.-Early life:Born in Lochgelly, Fife, Scotland, Gray graduated in 1878 from the University of Glasgow with a B.Sc. in engineering...
Special Award of The Marine Society & Sea Cadets
The Marine Society & Sea Cadets
The Marine Society & Sea Cadets resulted from the merging of The Navy League and The Marine Society, the world's oldest seafarers' charity...
from Second Sea Lord
Second Sea Lord
The Second Sea Lord and Commander-in-Chief Naval Home Command , commonly just known as the Second Sea Lord , is one of the most senior admirals of the British Royal Navy , and is responsible for personnel and naval shore establishments.-History:In 1805, for the first time, specific functions were...
, Vice-Admiral Sir James Burnell-Nugent
James Burnell-Nugent
Admiral Sir James Michael Burnell-Nugent KCB, CBE, ADC was the Commander-in-Chief Fleet of the Royal Navy.-Early life:He attended Stowe School in Buckinghamshire then went to Corpus Christi College, Cambridge.-Naval career:...
.
Asteroid 20002 Tillysmith
20002 Tillysmith
20002 Tillysmith is a main-belt asteroid discovered on March 10, 1991 by R. H. McNaught at Siding Spring. It is named after Tilly Smith who saved over one hundred people by recognising the receding water and frothing bubbles of an oncoming Tsunami during the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake.- External...
has been named after her. (See Meanings of asteroid names (20001-21000)
Meanings of asteroid names (20001-21000)
Minor planets not yet given a name have not been included in this list....
.)
In December 2005, Smith was named "Child of the Year" by the French magazine Mon Quotidien. At the official tsunami commemorations on the first annivrsary of the tsunami held at at Khao Lak
Khao Lak
Khao Lak ) is a seaside resort located in the Takua Pa district in the Phang Nga province, Thailand and popular as a departure point for liveaboard scuba diving trips to the Similan Islands....
, Thailand on 26 December 2005, she was given the honour of closing the ceremony with a speech to thousands of spectators which read in part:
External links
- News article from National Geographic
- Video interview by the UN International Strategy for Disaster Reduction