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CNN Live Today

Tragic Stories Continue to Emerge from Tsunami Disaster

Aired December 29, 2004 - 11:30   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.


DARYN KAGAN, CNN ANCHOR: The Heydemann family of Chicago was on the last day of their Thai vacation when disaster struck on Sunday morning. Dr. Peter Heydemann was dragged into the sea by the force of the tsunami. Earlier today on CNN's AMERICAN MORNING he spoke about his amazing tale of survival.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DR. PETER HEYDEMANN, SURVIVED TSUNAMI: We were on the veranda at the resort hotel we were at, which was on the high ground overlooking a small street and overlooking the beach, a relatively small beach. And we saw several smaller rises and recessions of water. Then - and those rises and recessions seemed to get farther and farther apart. And they were never too bad. They went up over the beach and to street level and the beach equipment, such as the umbrellas and beach chairs, all floated away. The bottoms of the stores were all hurt.

And it seemed like it was over. And I walked down there to the street level behind the beach and on the far side of the street were these stores and I was looking in one. In fact, it was a store that we had just purchased something at the day before and I was looking at how much destruction there was in the store just from the low levels of water that had hit it in the past few minutes. I didn't know the big one was still coming. And suddenly I heard somebody yell, I assumed it was something like "run" but I had no place to run to.

And suddenly I was in water above my head. I might have stayed under water except the buildings were fairly weakly built and the builds disintegrated around me, the roof went away and I floated up to the treetop level where I finally got my head back above water. And I was pleased to see a tree branch nearby. I grabbed for it. I didn't know my left hand wasn't going to be able to do any grabbing at that point but it didn't. I grabbed for it, the tree branch broke a moment later. The utility lines were right in front of me and I really didn't want to put my head back under the water but I did to try to get underneath the utility lines but I don't quite get far enough underneath and I came up and one was left in front of me, which I couldn't avoid, but fortunately there was no power in it. I held on to that for a second but didn't want to really hold on to that. And then the power of the recession of the water took me out into the bay.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KAGAN: An incredible story indeed.

Well, every missing person in the tsunami disaster has loved ones somewhere anxious to hear some bit of good news. One of them is a father right here in the metro Atlanta area. His adult son was vacationing in Thailand. Chiakita Williams (ph) of affiliate WSB has his story.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CURTIS GEASE, FATHER: Just hearing about how devastating it is and how the bodies were washed out to see and you don't know and you just have no idea what's going on. You just hope and pray for the best.

CHIAKITA WILLIAMS, CNN CORRESPONDENT, (voice over): This hand drawn e-mail, a male stick figure, a palm tree on an island in Thailand signed Curtis is the last bit of news this Riverdale father has received. It came on December 24th from his son only son, 33-year old Curtis Gease Jr., an ex-marine. He's hoping his son is OK, despite the unbelievable pictures of these massive waves that killed thousands.

GEASE: You can assume anything you want but as long as you - if you don't know, there's always hope. I hope he's OK. I don't feel like there's something wrong but you just don't know. The uncertainty. And you miss him and you don't know if he's OK and you don't know whether he was on the beach or he was in the hotel or where he is and it just makes you wonder.

WILLIAMS: He says Curtis Jr. has been a teacher in South Korea and China. He was taking a break in Thailand on vacation for about a month. Now this worried father sits by the phone and watches television for any news about his son.

GEASE: Nobody likes to see their children go before them. And he's tough, you know, and he's resilient.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KAGAN: And that report coming to us from WSB, our affiliate right here in Atlanta.

A couple of new things we want to share with you right now. We're getting some dramatic pictures showing the sheer force of the wave being sweeping over Southern Asia. These pictures are coming from Banda Aceh, Indonesia. The overall death toll rose to more than 80,000 today, with more than half of those in Indonesia.

Now while we look at those pictures, we want to also direct your attention to the Internet, to cnn.com. We have a place there for people to post pleas, basically, of looking for missing loved ones. And I'm going to share a couple of those with you. You can see the Web site but we can also go back and look at that video again.

Here's one that comes in asking for - I'm looking for my best friend, Lea Shackenburg (ph). The last time I contacted her, she said she was staying at a bungalow at the beach. I'm not sure where. If anyone has any information, please e-mail me as soon as possible. The e-mail, rockerbaby2007@hotmail.com. Another one. My sister and her husband were on their honeymoon in Indonesia. Her name is Carlos Salizar (ph). His name is Michael Vanderban (ph). We haven't had any information about them since the quake. Also asking for information.

You can see all these e-mails and their pleas. Just go to cnn.com. Along with the pleas, we also have information - the latest information, graphics and the latest. You can follow the story any time of day when you're away from your television, cnn.com.

Well, you've seen countless pictures by now, the string of train cars that overturned in Sri Lanka. The train was called the Sea Queen, ironically enough. We're going to have more insight about what happened here and why there were no survivors on board that train.

And then a first hand account, a British journalist vacationing with his family, he retraces his steps as he and his young son nearly escape the tsunami's wrath. You're watching CNN LIVE TODAY.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KAGAN: There's no end to the stories with the tsunami disaster. Tragic stories indeed. One unfolded aboard a train ride in Sir Lanka Sunday. Ironically, this train is called the Sea Queen. Our Anderson Cooper takes a look.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ANDERSON COOPER, CNN CORRESPONDENT, (voice over): This train was called the Queen of the Sea and today we saw what the sea did to it. A thousand people had bought tickets on the train for a Sunday ride along the Indian Ocean from Sir Lanka's capitol of Colombo to Galle. For almost all of them, this train became a death trap. Fifteen miles short of Galle, the train stopped because of high water. People from nearby houses climbed aboard to stay dry. Then the tsunami hit.

In the streets of Galle, the water overwhelmed. Buildings and cars and people washed away. Today, back in the jungle, those train cars lay scattered like toys. The force of the water tore the wheels and axles off some of them. The train is twisted upright like a fence. Of the thousand passengers, at least 800 are dead. Trucks hauled away piles of bodies. At least 200 victims were carried away to be buried or cremated, their last rites next to the Queen of the Sea and the sea that killed them.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KAGAN: And that was CNN's Anderson Cooper reporting.

Also have some new video coming into us. New amateur video. It was shot in Thailand. It shows the force of the waves as they come in. And you can see how the tourists were just on the beach and, unfortunately, you also see how people were just swept away and had nothing to hold on to. One minute they're sitting on a chaise lounge by a beautiful pool, and the next second they're being swept away in the force of the tsunami. The Thai government also coming out today saying that tourists, specifically in this part of the world, particularly hard hit. That for every Thai person who died, they believe two tourists died. And so the concern for people all around the world, sitting, waiting and wondering what happened to their loved ones perhaps because they were on vacation in Thailand.

Just how bad was it? Well, a first hand account for you now from John Irvine (ph). He's a correspondent with Britain's ITV News. You see his reports here on CNN. He was on vacation there with his wife and his two children when the tsunami hit Southern Thailand. They all survived. In fact, relatively unscathed. Here now, watch and listen to this. It's his first-hand account of that harrowing day.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JOHN IRVINE, CNN CORRESPONDENT, (voice over): The children were playing on the beach when I came running down to find them and my wife, Libby (ph). The sea off Co Yaw (ph) was a flat calm but with one big exception. A 20 foot wave was coming in shore very quickly indeed. Five-year-old Peter was staring at the wave, mesmerized. I lurched forward and grabbed him.

Obviously, with the wave pursuing us pretty rapidly, Peter and I were moving rather more quickly than we are this morning. My wife, Libby and my daughter Elizabeth headed for our bungalow over there but I knew that myself and the little fellow here simply wouldn't make it. We listened to the wave breaking on the beach. There was a big bang as it came through those trees. I suppose we'd reached about here before we were washed away. We were then carried about 40 yard.

The wave carried us both through this little gap between these two bungalows. All this time I was acutely aware of all the debris that the wave had picked up on its journey. Peter and I ended up actually down there in this field. And here are some of the tree trunks and other bits of debris that the wave carried with us. Fortunately, they missed us.

Afterwards, we found that my wife had gone through a similar experience. Only our daughter had made it to the bungalow, which was itself swamped. Nine-year-old Elizabeth was tumbled around. The furniture and fittings were destroyed but miraculously she suffered only cuts and bruises.

Some of the buildings here were damaged structurally, so powerful was the tsunami. We lost pretty much all of our belongings but we consider ourselves incredibly fortunate. As for this resort itself, the general manager is promising he'll be back in business within a forth night.

John Irvine, ITV News, Co Yaw, Thailand.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KAGAN: So that's John Irvine's story. Also, she was famous before the disaster and even more now after surviving it. New details on super model Petra Nemcova. Her story of how she survived when so many others, including her boyfriend, apparently did not. That's still ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KAGAN: There have been so many devastating stories to report in recent days. Now, a reunion. An update on the little Swedish boy who was lost. He has now been reunited with his father. We showed you this picture yesterday. However, that was not the boy and his father. That reunion taking place today. The little boy, Hanas (ph). He had to wait two days to see his father. Watch these pictures. They will break your heart.

The little boy, just under two years old, he was dubbed the miracle boy by the American couple. They found him wrapped in blankets and unconscious on the top of a hill after the tsunami broke on the shorelines. They didn't know if the little boy would survive the journey to the hospital. The were also convinced he lost his family.

Well, two days later, and we saw these pictures before, this little boy was reunited with his grandmother and his uncle. His father was then identified by hospital staff at a different hospital. They saw his story posted on the Internet. He finally has arrived in Phuket from where he was being taken care of. He had to undergo an emergency operation and finally the reunion, which you're seeing here, taking place before the cameras. This tearful reunion, we do have to say, is bittersweet because the man's wife and this little boy's mother is still reported missing. Look at those eyes.

Well, another person who barely survived the tsunami disaster is super model Petra Nemcova. She is now being treated at a Thai hospital for serious injuries. CNN's Adaora Udoji reports on the super model's ordeal.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ADAORA UDOJI, CNN CORRESPONDENT, (voice over): Petra Nemcova, a 25-year-old super model with a hectic schedule, making magazine covers like "Sports Illustrated" in 2003. Sometimes working with her boyfriend of two years, British Fashion Photographer Simon Atlee. This, a 2005 calendar, they shot together.

They'd been working so hard. She surprised Atlee with a trip to Thailand's renowned resort haven of Phuket. She told the head of her modeling agency they were relaxing inside when the tsunami horror began.

FAITH KATES, PRESIDENT, NEXT MODELS: She heard the kids screaming. She went to see what was going on because she was so concerned about the kids. And as she went to see what was going on, the wave hit her bungalow and it washed it away.

UDOJI: Nemcova and Atlee grabbed onto a palm tree as the oceans, debris and bodies brushed nearby. In an instant, she told friends, Atlee was swept away. She held on for eight hours despite major injuries.

KATES: She's got a broken pelvis. She's got some shattered bones in her hip.

UDOJI: But, more than anything, says her long time friend Jamison Ernest, who helped track her down in a Thai hospital, Nemcova's desperate to find Atlee.

JAMISON ERNEST, NEMCOVA'S FRIEND: My biggest concern right now is that whatever way anybody can to help identify Simon or find Simon, you know, at her Web site, there's people on it 24 hours a day right now.

UDOJI: Nemcova's sister immediately jumped on a plane from New York to Thailand, enormously relieved. They're all praying Atlee is somewhere recovering too.

Adaora Udoji, CNN, New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KAGAN: Well, we won't leave this story but we also do have other news to get to, including the markets. Our David Haffenreffer is standing by in New York City.

David.

(STOCK MARKET REPORT)

KAGAN: David, thank you.

Back now to our tsunami coverage.

A lot of families here in the states are still frantic for information on loved ones in Southeast Asia. Our Mary Snow reports on one New York woman who still awaits word.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SHANIKA RANASINGHE, SEARCHING FOR RELATIVES: It's driving us crazy that we're sitting here. Like when we're hungry, we get to eat something.

MARY SNOW, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): Twenty-four-year-old Shanika Ranasinghe's shock has turned into a desperate search for information about missing family members in Galle, Sir Lanka. Her uncle is among the missing. Two other members of her extended family, a mother and her disabled daughter did not survive when a roof collapsed over them. Her father struggles with words to describe the horror.

SARATH RANASINGHE, BROTHER IS MISSING: This is something that you don't want to wish for your worst enemy. I mean (INAUDIBLE). It's like - it reminds me of biblical time like flood in the Bible times.

SNOW: Shanika is spending most of her waking hours trying to get information, mainly from the Internet.

SHANIKA RANASINGHE: I just try to stay as occupied as possible. But, at a point, it kind of drives you crazy when what you're trying to do is just stay occupied.

SNOW: Part of the information she learned was that the harrowing pictures of a train swallowed by the sea hit close to home. Extended family members were on board.

SHANIKA RANASINGHE: A human part of you feels so angry because, I'm sure you heard, like the lack of a warning system. Like there's no reason a train should have been traveling down a coast.

SNOW: But the anger has also turned into action. Shanika and her sister are among members of her community's temple collecting everything from clothes to canned foods to medical supplies and there's also a need for tools and a need for information.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: His brother is missing.

SNOW: This Buddhist priest at a nearby temple has been monitoring Sir Lanka broadcasting, trying to help link families with missing relatives.

PERCY NANAYAKKARA, MEMBER OF TEMPLE: This is sort of like a nerve center where all people contact.

SNOW: And they share grief.

SAHANI RANASINGHE: There's a sense of community and everybody's helping out. I know most of these people have work today and they're taking time off to help.

SNOW: These sisters are hoping to take time off to go to Sir Lanka themselves, to deliver aid and help rebuild.

SHANIKA RANASINGHE: A pair of hands, you know, some times is more valuable than any money. So just to go and be close to them and, you know, not just my own family, like there's nothing I wouldn't be willing to do.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KAGAN: That report from CNN's Mary Snow.

Sir Lanka was the second hardest hit country with more than 22,000 people dead.

Another perspective that really highlights the destruction caused by the tsunami in Asia. Look at these satellite photos. They were taken before and we also have those after. We're going to compare those after the break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KAGAN: Another way to get an idea of just how much damage has been done, let's go to the satellite. A view from high above demonstrating the awesome power that water can have. Now this is the first satellite photo. It shows the Sir Lanka beach side city of Calutara (ph) on a normal day. This picture was taken last new year's day. Now the second photo snapped about four hours after the tsunami crashed into land. Interesting to note that the town is on Sir Lanka's west coast. The tsunami came from the east.

U.N. officials have said that this disaster will likely launch the most massive relief effort in history. Nations have mobilized, as have private organizations. And as we see in this report from Beth Parker (ph) of CNN's Washington's affiliate WTTG, even one single person can make a difference.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BETH PARKER, CNN CORRESPONDENT, (voice over): Roshan Batalianaga (ph) is a typical 14-year-old and he's been up all night.

ROSHAN BATALIANAGA: A little sleepy.

PARKER: His fingers on the keyboard, eyes focused intently on the computer screen. But unlike a lot of kid, he wasn't playing video games, he was creating a Web site to help the people of Sir Lanka.

BATALIANAGA: I paid $100 in fees (ph) so far.

PARKER: And that's your Christmas money?

BATALIANAGA: Yes.

PARKER: Rashan's willing to hand over his Christmas gifts because Sir Lanka is the country where he was born. Most of the relatives he visited two years ago are OK.

BATALIANAGA: That's me right there. These are all my cousins right here. And this was in Sir Lanka at a - near a hotel, a restaurant.

PARKER: And do you know what has happened to that place?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's all gone.

BATALIANAGA: It's all gone.

PARKER: On his Web site, Rashan is collecting financial donations that will be wired to Sir Lanka obligations to will be wired to Sir Lanka. In a home not far away, Rizan Mulana (ph) is collecting donations too. With a homemade sign out front and some word of mouth, his garage has become a warehouse. It is Mulana's way of grieving.

RIZAN MULANA: It's better this way than to, you know, just sit down and giving into it.

PARKER: Mulana lost 30 relatives in the quake and the tsunamis that followed.

MULANA: If people with whom I grew up with in the same household, my first cousin, my dad's brother's son, and my dad's sister's daughter, people like that and their families and little babies and, you know, it's unbelievable.

PARKER: Because of his government job, Andy Hogan has made the long journey to Asia several times. Today he journeyed an hour from his home in Woodbridge, Virginia, to Mulana's home in Gaithersburg to make a donation.

ANDY HOGAN, RELIEF DONOR: We wanted to do what we could to help, in what little way we can.

PARKER: Donations include toys, bicycles, food and clothing. As young Roshan put it, I don't need anything, they need everything.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KAGAN: That report was from Beth Parker from our Washington affiliate, WTTG.

Some weather challenges to face here in the U.S. Rob Marciano is keeping an eye on that, especially the west coast.

Rob.

(WEATHER REPORT)

KAGAN: All right, Rob, thank you for that.

And that's going to do it for me, Daryn Kagan. I'll be with you here tomorrow morning.

As we go to break, I want to leave you with the most heartwarming pictures of the day. Another look at this little Swedish boy, Hanas Bergstrum (ph), as he's reunited with is father after they were separated in the tsunami.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

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Aired December 29, 2004 - 11:30   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
DARYN KAGAN, CNN ANCHOR: The Heydemann family of Chicago was on the last day of their Thai vacation when disaster struck on Sunday morning. Dr. Peter Heydemann was dragged into the sea by the force of the tsunami. Earlier today on CNN's AMERICAN MORNING he spoke about his amazing tale of survival.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DR. PETER HEYDEMANN, SURVIVED TSUNAMI: We were on the veranda at the resort hotel we were at, which was on the high ground overlooking a small street and overlooking the beach, a relatively small beach. And we saw several smaller rises and recessions of water. Then - and those rises and recessions seemed to get farther and farther apart. And they were never too bad. They went up over the beach and to street level and the beach equipment, such as the umbrellas and beach chairs, all floated away. The bottoms of the stores were all hurt.

And it seemed like it was over. And I walked down there to the street level behind the beach and on the far side of the street were these stores and I was looking in one. In fact, it was a store that we had just purchased something at the day before and I was looking at how much destruction there was in the store just from the low levels of water that had hit it in the past few minutes. I didn't know the big one was still coming. And suddenly I heard somebody yell, I assumed it was something like "run" but I had no place to run to.

And suddenly I was in water above my head. I might have stayed under water except the buildings were fairly weakly built and the builds disintegrated around me, the roof went away and I floated up to the treetop level where I finally got my head back above water. And I was pleased to see a tree branch nearby. I grabbed for it. I didn't know my left hand wasn't going to be able to do any grabbing at that point but it didn't. I grabbed for it, the tree branch broke a moment later. The utility lines were right in front of me and I really didn't want to put my head back under the water but I did to try to get underneath the utility lines but I don't quite get far enough underneath and I came up and one was left in front of me, which I couldn't avoid, but fortunately there was no power in it. I held on to that for a second but didn't want to really hold on to that. And then the power of the recession of the water took me out into the bay.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KAGAN: An incredible story indeed.

Well, every missing person in the tsunami disaster has loved ones somewhere anxious to hear some bit of good news. One of them is a father right here in the metro Atlanta area. His adult son was vacationing in Thailand. Chiakita Williams (ph) of affiliate WSB has his story.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CURTIS GEASE, FATHER: Just hearing about how devastating it is and how the bodies were washed out to see and you don't know and you just have no idea what's going on. You just hope and pray for the best.

CHIAKITA WILLIAMS, CNN CORRESPONDENT, (voice over): This hand drawn e-mail, a male stick figure, a palm tree on an island in Thailand signed Curtis is the last bit of news this Riverdale father has received. It came on December 24th from his son only son, 33-year old Curtis Gease Jr., an ex-marine. He's hoping his son is OK, despite the unbelievable pictures of these massive waves that killed thousands.

GEASE: You can assume anything you want but as long as you - if you don't know, there's always hope. I hope he's OK. I don't feel like there's something wrong but you just don't know. The uncertainty. And you miss him and you don't know if he's OK and you don't know whether he was on the beach or he was in the hotel or where he is and it just makes you wonder.

WILLIAMS: He says Curtis Jr. has been a teacher in South Korea and China. He was taking a break in Thailand on vacation for about a month. Now this worried father sits by the phone and watches television for any news about his son.

GEASE: Nobody likes to see their children go before them. And he's tough, you know, and he's resilient.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KAGAN: And that report coming to us from WSB, our affiliate right here in Atlanta.

A couple of new things we want to share with you right now. We're getting some dramatic pictures showing the sheer force of the wave being sweeping over Southern Asia. These pictures are coming from Banda Aceh, Indonesia. The overall death toll rose to more than 80,000 today, with more than half of those in Indonesia.

Now while we look at those pictures, we want to also direct your attention to the Internet, to cnn.com. We have a place there for people to post pleas, basically, of looking for missing loved ones. And I'm going to share a couple of those with you. You can see the Web site but we can also go back and look at that video again.

Here's one that comes in asking for - I'm looking for my best friend, Lea Shackenburg (ph). The last time I contacted her, she said she was staying at a bungalow at the beach. I'm not sure where. If anyone has any information, please e-mail me as soon as possible. The e-mail, rockerbaby2007@hotmail.com. Another one. My sister and her husband were on their honeymoon in Indonesia. Her name is Carlos Salizar (ph). His name is Michael Vanderban (ph). We haven't had any information about them since the quake. Also asking for information.

You can see all these e-mails and their pleas. Just go to cnn.com. Along with the pleas, we also have information - the latest information, graphics and the latest. You can follow the story any time of day when you're away from your television, cnn.com.

Well, you've seen countless pictures by now, the string of train cars that overturned in Sri Lanka. The train was called the Sea Queen, ironically enough. We're going to have more insight about what happened here and why there were no survivors on board that train.

And then a first hand account, a British journalist vacationing with his family, he retraces his steps as he and his young son nearly escape the tsunami's wrath. You're watching CNN LIVE TODAY.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KAGAN: There's no end to the stories with the tsunami disaster. Tragic stories indeed. One unfolded aboard a train ride in Sir Lanka Sunday. Ironically, this train is called the Sea Queen. Our Anderson Cooper takes a look.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ANDERSON COOPER, CNN CORRESPONDENT, (voice over): This train was called the Queen of the Sea and today we saw what the sea did to it. A thousand people had bought tickets on the train for a Sunday ride along the Indian Ocean from Sir Lanka's capitol of Colombo to Galle. For almost all of them, this train became a death trap. Fifteen miles short of Galle, the train stopped because of high water. People from nearby houses climbed aboard to stay dry. Then the tsunami hit.

In the streets of Galle, the water overwhelmed. Buildings and cars and people washed away. Today, back in the jungle, those train cars lay scattered like toys. The force of the water tore the wheels and axles off some of them. The train is twisted upright like a fence. Of the thousand passengers, at least 800 are dead. Trucks hauled away piles of bodies. At least 200 victims were carried away to be buried or cremated, their last rites next to the Queen of the Sea and the sea that killed them.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KAGAN: And that was CNN's Anderson Cooper reporting.

Also have some new video coming into us. New amateur video. It was shot in Thailand. It shows the force of the waves as they come in. And you can see how the tourists were just on the beach and, unfortunately, you also see how people were just swept away and had nothing to hold on to. One minute they're sitting on a chaise lounge by a beautiful pool, and the next second they're being swept away in the force of the tsunami. The Thai government also coming out today saying that tourists, specifically in this part of the world, particularly hard hit. That for every Thai person who died, they believe two tourists died. And so the concern for people all around the world, sitting, waiting and wondering what happened to their loved ones perhaps because they were on vacation in Thailand.

Just how bad was it? Well, a first hand account for you now from John Irvine (ph). He's a correspondent with Britain's ITV News. You see his reports here on CNN. He was on vacation there with his wife and his two children when the tsunami hit Southern Thailand. They all survived. In fact, relatively unscathed. Here now, watch and listen to this. It's his first-hand account of that harrowing day.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JOHN IRVINE, CNN CORRESPONDENT, (voice over): The children were playing on the beach when I came running down to find them and my wife, Libby (ph). The sea off Co Yaw (ph) was a flat calm but with one big exception. A 20 foot wave was coming in shore very quickly indeed. Five-year-old Peter was staring at the wave, mesmerized. I lurched forward and grabbed him.

Obviously, with the wave pursuing us pretty rapidly, Peter and I were moving rather more quickly than we are this morning. My wife, Libby and my daughter Elizabeth headed for our bungalow over there but I knew that myself and the little fellow here simply wouldn't make it. We listened to the wave breaking on the beach. There was a big bang as it came through those trees. I suppose we'd reached about here before we were washed away. We were then carried about 40 yard.

The wave carried us both through this little gap between these two bungalows. All this time I was acutely aware of all the debris that the wave had picked up on its journey. Peter and I ended up actually down there in this field. And here are some of the tree trunks and other bits of debris that the wave carried with us. Fortunately, they missed us.

Afterwards, we found that my wife had gone through a similar experience. Only our daughter had made it to the bungalow, which was itself swamped. Nine-year-old Elizabeth was tumbled around. The furniture and fittings were destroyed but miraculously she suffered only cuts and bruises.

Some of the buildings here were damaged structurally, so powerful was the tsunami. We lost pretty much all of our belongings but we consider ourselves incredibly fortunate. As for this resort itself, the general manager is promising he'll be back in business within a forth night.

John Irvine, ITV News, Co Yaw, Thailand.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KAGAN: So that's John Irvine's story. Also, she was famous before the disaster and even more now after surviving it. New details on super model Petra Nemcova. Her story of how she survived when so many others, including her boyfriend, apparently did not. That's still ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KAGAN: There have been so many devastating stories to report in recent days. Now, a reunion. An update on the little Swedish boy who was lost. He has now been reunited with his father. We showed you this picture yesterday. However, that was not the boy and his father. That reunion taking place today. The little boy, Hanas (ph). He had to wait two days to see his father. Watch these pictures. They will break your heart.

The little boy, just under two years old, he was dubbed the miracle boy by the American couple. They found him wrapped in blankets and unconscious on the top of a hill after the tsunami broke on the shorelines. They didn't know if the little boy would survive the journey to the hospital. The were also convinced he lost his family.

Well, two days later, and we saw these pictures before, this little boy was reunited with his grandmother and his uncle. His father was then identified by hospital staff at a different hospital. They saw his story posted on the Internet. He finally has arrived in Phuket from where he was being taken care of. He had to undergo an emergency operation and finally the reunion, which you're seeing here, taking place before the cameras. This tearful reunion, we do have to say, is bittersweet because the man's wife and this little boy's mother is still reported missing. Look at those eyes.

Well, another person who barely survived the tsunami disaster is super model Petra Nemcova. She is now being treated at a Thai hospital for serious injuries. CNN's Adaora Udoji reports on the super model's ordeal.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ADAORA UDOJI, CNN CORRESPONDENT, (voice over): Petra Nemcova, a 25-year-old super model with a hectic schedule, making magazine covers like "Sports Illustrated" in 2003. Sometimes working with her boyfriend of two years, British Fashion Photographer Simon Atlee. This, a 2005 calendar, they shot together.

They'd been working so hard. She surprised Atlee with a trip to Thailand's renowned resort haven of Phuket. She told the head of her modeling agency they were relaxing inside when the tsunami horror began.

FAITH KATES, PRESIDENT, NEXT MODELS: She heard the kids screaming. She went to see what was going on because she was so concerned about the kids. And as she went to see what was going on, the wave hit her bungalow and it washed it away.

UDOJI: Nemcova and Atlee grabbed onto a palm tree as the oceans, debris and bodies brushed nearby. In an instant, she told friends, Atlee was swept away. She held on for eight hours despite major injuries.

KATES: She's got a broken pelvis. She's got some shattered bones in her hip.

UDOJI: But, more than anything, says her long time friend Jamison Ernest, who helped track her down in a Thai hospital, Nemcova's desperate to find Atlee.

JAMISON ERNEST, NEMCOVA'S FRIEND: My biggest concern right now is that whatever way anybody can to help identify Simon or find Simon, you know, at her Web site, there's people on it 24 hours a day right now.

UDOJI: Nemcova's sister immediately jumped on a plane from New York to Thailand, enormously relieved. They're all praying Atlee is somewhere recovering too.

Adaora Udoji, CNN, New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KAGAN: Well, we won't leave this story but we also do have other news to get to, including the markets. Our David Haffenreffer is standing by in New York City.

David.

(STOCK MARKET REPORT)

KAGAN: David, thank you.

Back now to our tsunami coverage.

A lot of families here in the states are still frantic for information on loved ones in Southeast Asia. Our Mary Snow reports on one New York woman who still awaits word.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SHANIKA RANASINGHE, SEARCHING FOR RELATIVES: It's driving us crazy that we're sitting here. Like when we're hungry, we get to eat something.

MARY SNOW, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): Twenty-four-year-old Shanika Ranasinghe's shock has turned into a desperate search for information about missing family members in Galle, Sir Lanka. Her uncle is among the missing. Two other members of her extended family, a mother and her disabled daughter did not survive when a roof collapsed over them. Her father struggles with words to describe the horror.

SARATH RANASINGHE, BROTHER IS MISSING: This is something that you don't want to wish for your worst enemy. I mean (INAUDIBLE). It's like - it reminds me of biblical time like flood in the Bible times.

SNOW: Shanika is spending most of her waking hours trying to get information, mainly from the Internet.

SHANIKA RANASINGHE: I just try to stay as occupied as possible. But, at a point, it kind of drives you crazy when what you're trying to do is just stay occupied.

SNOW: Part of the information she learned was that the harrowing pictures of a train swallowed by the sea hit close to home. Extended family members were on board.

SHANIKA RANASINGHE: A human part of you feels so angry because, I'm sure you heard, like the lack of a warning system. Like there's no reason a train should have been traveling down a coast.

SNOW: But the anger has also turned into action. Shanika and her sister are among members of her community's temple collecting everything from clothes to canned foods to medical supplies and there's also a need for tools and a need for information.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: His brother is missing.

SNOW: This Buddhist priest at a nearby temple has been monitoring Sir Lanka broadcasting, trying to help link families with missing relatives.

PERCY NANAYAKKARA, MEMBER OF TEMPLE: This is sort of like a nerve center where all people contact.

SNOW: And they share grief.

SAHANI RANASINGHE: There's a sense of community and everybody's helping out. I know most of these people have work today and they're taking time off to help.

SNOW: These sisters are hoping to take time off to go to Sir Lanka themselves, to deliver aid and help rebuild.

SHANIKA RANASINGHE: A pair of hands, you know, some times is more valuable than any money. So just to go and be close to them and, you know, not just my own family, like there's nothing I wouldn't be willing to do.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KAGAN: That report from CNN's Mary Snow.

Sir Lanka was the second hardest hit country with more than 22,000 people dead.

Another perspective that really highlights the destruction caused by the tsunami in Asia. Look at these satellite photos. They were taken before and we also have those after. We're going to compare those after the break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KAGAN: Another way to get an idea of just how much damage has been done, let's go to the satellite. A view from high above demonstrating the awesome power that water can have. Now this is the first satellite photo. It shows the Sir Lanka beach side city of Calutara (ph) on a normal day. This picture was taken last new year's day. Now the second photo snapped about four hours after the tsunami crashed into land. Interesting to note that the town is on Sir Lanka's west coast. The tsunami came from the east.

U.N. officials have said that this disaster will likely launch the most massive relief effort in history. Nations have mobilized, as have private organizations. And as we see in this report from Beth Parker (ph) of CNN's Washington's affiliate WTTG, even one single person can make a difference.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BETH PARKER, CNN CORRESPONDENT, (voice over): Roshan Batalianaga (ph) is a typical 14-year-old and he's been up all night.

ROSHAN BATALIANAGA: A little sleepy.

PARKER: His fingers on the keyboard, eyes focused intently on the computer screen. But unlike a lot of kid, he wasn't playing video games, he was creating a Web site to help the people of Sir Lanka.

BATALIANAGA: I paid $100 in fees (ph) so far.

PARKER: And that's your Christmas money?

BATALIANAGA: Yes.

PARKER: Rashan's willing to hand over his Christmas gifts because Sir Lanka is the country where he was born. Most of the relatives he visited two years ago are OK.

BATALIANAGA: That's me right there. These are all my cousins right here. And this was in Sir Lanka at a - near a hotel, a restaurant.

PARKER: And do you know what has happened to that place?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's all gone.

BATALIANAGA: It's all gone.

PARKER: On his Web site, Rashan is collecting financial donations that will be wired to Sir Lanka obligations to will be wired to Sir Lanka. In a home not far away, Rizan Mulana (ph) is collecting donations too. With a homemade sign out front and some word of mouth, his garage has become a warehouse. It is Mulana's way of grieving.

RIZAN MULANA: It's better this way than to, you know, just sit down and giving into it.

PARKER: Mulana lost 30 relatives in the quake and the tsunamis that followed.

MULANA: If people with whom I grew up with in the same household, my first cousin, my dad's brother's son, and my dad's sister's daughter, people like that and their families and little babies and, you know, it's unbelievable.

PARKER: Because of his government job, Andy Hogan has made the long journey to Asia several times. Today he journeyed an hour from his home in Woodbridge, Virginia, to Mulana's home in Gaithersburg to make a donation.

ANDY HOGAN, RELIEF DONOR: We wanted to do what we could to help, in what little way we can.

PARKER: Donations include toys, bicycles, food and clothing. As young Roshan put it, I don't need anything, they need everything.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KAGAN: That report was from Beth Parker from our Washington affiliate, WTTG.

Some weather challenges to face here in the U.S. Rob Marciano is keeping an eye on that, especially the west coast.

Rob.

(WEATHER REPORT)

KAGAN: All right, Rob, thank you for that.

And that's going to do it for me, Daryn Kagan. I'll be with you here tomorrow morning.

As we go to break, I want to leave you with the most heartwarming pictures of the day. Another look at this little Swedish boy, Hanas Bergstrum (ph), as he's reunited with is father after they were separated in the tsunami.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

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