NYT/AP: Tsunami Hero (British schoolgirl, 10) Visits U.N., Meets Clinton

[DeepModem Mom]

Tsunami Hero Visits U.N., Meets Clinton
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Published: November 3, 2005


UNITED NATIONS (AP) -- Tilly Smith, just 10 years old, put her geography lessons to good use: By quickly recognizing the warning signs of a tsunami, the English schoolgirl saved about 100 people from near-certain death at a Thai resort.

On Thursday, Tilly visited the United Nations and met former president Bill Clinton, the U.N. envoy for the tsunami recovery.

''My mum didn't realize what was happening on the beach because she wasn't taught about tsunamis when she was younger,'' said Tilly, who was in New York with her mother, father and sister. The Smith family all escaped the lethal waves after Tilly's early warning during their vacation on the island of Phuket.

Two weeks before the Dec. 26, 2004, disaster that took at least 178,000 lives, Tilly had studied tsunamis in her geography class in Oxshott, a community of about 5,000 just south of London....While Colin Smith relayed Tilly's warning to the hotel staff, the girl dashed back toward the beach filled with about 100 people. She told the Japanese-born hotel chef of the danger, ''and he knew the word tsunami because it's Japanese. But he never saw one.''

The chef and a nearby hotel security agent both spread the warning and the beach was swiftly evacuated -- minutes before the devastating waves struck....(T)he 10-year-old was welcomed at U.N. headquarters by officials of the International Strategy for Disaster Reduction, a Geneva-based U.N. agency that is trying to educate people worldwide on proper disaster response....


http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/international/AP-Tsunami-Schoolgirl.html

[CottonBear]

1. A reason why the US schools should teach geography n/t.

[I_Make_Mistakes]

3. And about natural disasters. I live in the NE and one day, I

looked out the window and called my downstairs neighbor, "Are we under a tornado watch?" (the rain was coming left to right, right to left and straight down, weird for here) she said "Yes". The neighbor's son (who lived 9 mo./yr in OK explained what we should be doing.

Tornado's are so rare here, if I hadn't lived in MI for a year I would not have known at all. There was a small touchdown the next town over.

I remember that girl's story, she was like finding a pearl for those she warned!

[bleedingheart]

6. They are taught about this in schools

I remember learning about tidal waves when I was a child...

The good thing is Tilly remembered her lessons....many kids just plain forget what they learn in school.

[GoddessOfGuinness]

2. "the girl dashed back toward the beach filled with about 100 people"

That's one damn brave little girl!

[momster]

4. Tilly Smith for Head of FEMA

At least she knows what to do in an emergency.

[DeepModem Mom]

5. Good idea! nt