February 11, 2005

Tsunami survivors

Nick, Angelo Konidis ride out wave at sea

By Diane Sharp
Special to the Times

Nick Konidis and his son Angelo never dreamed that visiting friends and family on the Island of Phuket would earn them “the tsunami survivors” nickname. Yet there they were, far from their home in Evergreen, when the infamous earthquake and tsunami hit in December 2004.

Nick and Angelo Konidis survived the tsunami that devastated the Island of Phuket where they were vacationing in December. When they’re not dodging waves, Nick enjoys soccer and weight training and Angelo enjoys weight training, football, soccer, fishing and hunting. They have both lived in this country for the past 25 years.

Nick, a certified trainer at Silver Creek Fitness, and Angelo, a food and beverage director and executive chef at the Santa Clara Hilton, were scheduled to leave the dock to go fishing at 10 a.m. on Dec. 26. At about 8:30 a.m., while they were eating breakfast, they felt an earthquake and ran out of the restaurant.

The earthquake lasted 20 to 30 seconds. Although it didn’t cause any damage, everyone was shaken up by the event.

“We would have stayed until 9:15 a.m. to finish breakfast, but after the earthquake, we decided to go ahead and leave, so we proceeded to go to Patong Beach to wait for our boat to go fishing,” said Angelo. They were planning to meet Nick’s other son Jimmy and some friends who live in Thailand.

Although they weren’t scheduled to leave until 10 a.m., Nick and Angelo arrived at the pier at 9:20 a.m. and paid for the boat that would save the lives of 10 people that fateful day. They contacted the captain by radio and the boat left the dock around 9:30 a.m.—half an hour ahead of schedule.

Jimmy’s dog Cola, who joined them on the boat, was acting very nervous and refused to eat. Nick had never seen him behaving this way.

On the way out to sea, the captain realized he had forgotten to bring his brother aboard and said, “I need to turn back to get my brother.” Nick told the captain not to turn back, but rather, to call his brother on the cell phone and have a small fishing boat bring him to their boat. The Captain agreed and a friend delivered his brother.

According to Nick and Angelo, it was one of those perfect days—beautiful weather, no wind. Ten minutes later they felt a five-foot wave lift the boat and Jimmy asked, “Did you feel that?” Angelo and Nick said it was no big deal as the boat drifted out further to sea in search of a good fishing spot.

Two to three minutes later, Angelo received a frantic phone call from the taxi driver who had booked the boat for them. “Don’t come back because there is big water coming,” said the driver. Angelo didn’t understand what “big water” meant and handed the phone to the captain who relayed the message, “A huge wave just destroyed Patong Beach.”

Returning to shore
When they looked toward the shore, the beach area had disappeared. There was no sand and everything looked black. The water was swirling and changing colors. They were told to stay on the boat and not return to shore because it was safer.

Many hours passed as they waited for more news. At about 4:30 p.m., they received a call alerting them about another anticipated wave and instructing them to return to land. The boat made its way toward shore and stopped half a mile away. They climbed into a long boat canoe and traveled very slowly around the debris. Dead bodies and animals floated in the water.

A general view of the scene at the Marina Beach in Madras, Dec. 26, after tidal waves hit the region. Tidal waves devastated the southern Indian coastline. Disaster struck just after dawn as the result of a magnitude 9 earthquake in Indonesia.

“We were in shock as we made our way through the water in silence and disbelief,” said Angelo.

The metal pier from which they had launched earlier that day was gone. A piece of the pier was later found on top of a Toyota dealership 1.5 miles inland.

In the disaster, Jimmy lost the Pharin Beach Hotel that he owned. Wood structures were demolished, some buildings had horizontal walls blown out, telephone lines and wires were down and boats split in half. The people who had rented them the boat and the fisherman they had talked to earlier died that day.

Other survivors told Nick and Angelo that the first wave pulled the ocean back and fish could be found flopping everywhere. Many people ran out to catch the fish, and when the next wave hit, it was 32 feet high—snatching those lives with the force of 500 mph—the speed of a jet.

“Imagine being surrounded by all this destruction. It is completely different seeing it on television versus living it. It is totally overwhelming,” recalled Angelo. “I never thought water could have so much power and destroy so much,” Nick said.

When they made it to shore around 5:15 p.m., they found a police officer driving a pick-up truck, looking to help those who were stranded. A broadcast stated that there was an after shock in Sumatra and “whoever’s alive must flee.” The pick-up truck turned around and made its way around 200 motorcycles making a quick exit from the beach area.

The officer drove them up a hill to a point where they could walk to a friend’s house. They saw thousands of people who were in shock, many carrying their luggage, many now homeless. Thousands of tourists lined the roads on the hillside.

Assisting those in need
Another report for help came in. Their friend had a 29-foot motorboat, so Jimmy and two of his friends left for the Phi Phi Islands. They described their experience like a horror movie. Thousands of people were dead. Mass destruction. People injured both physically and emotionally.

Everyone wanted a boat, but the sick and injured came first and children with mothers second. The first day Jimmy and his friends brought 27 people back and two died on the boat. The operation continued when they received a call from the Navy to help again. On the second day, they brought water with them, and 30 people were saved.

The airport was closed, and TV and local authorities gave up seats for the sick and injured. The beach was shut down for five days, and a candlelight vigil on New Year’s Eve remembered the many people who had lost their lives.

Workers wore masks as they searched for signs of life amidst the strong smell of decaying bodies.

Angelo lost his rental car, luggage and two of his friends. He was told that the insurance would not cover the loss of the vehicle due to “acts of God.” The man who rented him the car lost his brother in the disaster. Angelo is doing what he can to pay back $12,000 for the rental car.

Their lives are forever changed by this experience. “I am happy to be alive,” said Angelo. “We don’t take anything for granted. At the same time, it affected me personally. I feel a sense of loss, and I have nightmares. I think it will take awhile to get over it. Although I am happy to be alive, I also ask, “Why did this have to happen?”

Nick agrees. “I am thankful that the Lord saved my family and very sad that so many lives were lost.”

They both felt like they were on Noah’s Ark. “God put us in the boat, and when we came back, nobody was standing,” said Angelo.

Second near-death experience
This isn’t Angelo’s first brush with death. At the age of 17, he was involved in a car accident where the other driver got out of his car and started shooting. Angelo was shot in his arm with a 45-caliber gun and hospitalized for six months.

He almost lost his arm and his life.

Surgery saved him that time, and his doctor told him he could exercise and improve his fitness level and make his arm stronger or leave it up to fate. Nick, who is also a body builder, put Angelo on a weightlifting program and took him from 125 pounds to 185 pounds. Nine years later Angelo competed in a body building competition.

Nick “practices what he preaches,” said Angelo. “He eats right, works out and customizes programs for his clients.”

Angelo has lived in Evergreen for five years with his son Nickolas, a student at Norwood Creek Elementary School. Nick moved in with them in 2003.

Angelo plans to return to Thailand. Prior to this trip, he had great experiences the first two times he visited there. “I want to erase the bad picture from my head and replace it with a positive one,” explained Angelo. “Thailand is a beautiful place, and I want to support tourism. If people stay away, it won’t help them.”

Nick agrees and plans to return to Thailand sometime this year with Angelo. “Whatever we do, we do together,” said Nick. “I will return to Thailand because God saved me from this disaster, and I have nothing else to fear. It wasn’t my time, and I don’t think it will happen again. I’d go tomorrow if I could.”