Supporting Thai Tsunami Orphans

A Small Gesture to help Children in Need

Flat Friends was able to support and give comfort to orphans in Thailand following the boxing day Tsunami on 26 December 2004, which has been regarded as one of the worst Tsunami’s in history killing more than 230,000 across 14 countries.

It began at 7:59am local time on December 26, 2004, when a 9.1-magnitude quake struck off the northern tip of Sumatra in Indonesia. Scientists say the earthquake was the third-biggest ever recorded, lasting up to 10 minutes and causing the Earth to vibrate up to one centimetre. It also displaced an estimated 30 cubic kilometres of water, unleashing a massive tsunami across the Indian Ocean.

Within 15 minutes of the earthquake, waves began striking the coasts of northern Sumatra and the Nicobar Islands. Waves of up to 30 metres were recorded as the tsunami swept through Aceh, the hardest hit region of Indonesia. Around two hours after the earthquake struck, waves reached Sri Lanka, India and Thailand. An hour later they reached the Maldives, and- more than seven hours after the initial quake, the tsunami was observed in Mauritius and along the east coast of Africa.

The Tsunami struck 6 provinces in Thailand during peak tourist season. Many Tourists lost their life that day, some fishing villages in Thailand lost half their residents. Many people were not prepared for the big waves that hit them. It was sudden and the impact drastic.

 

 

International Support

Australia committed to provide $1Billion in funds over several years to help.

Flat Friends was proud to assist the best way we knew how to and that was to provide support and comfort to children through gifting them our sheepskin soft toys. We donated our lambskin Koala because it’s recognised by most people as a uniquely Australian animal. Lambskin also has tactile and therapeutic properties that comforts children and sick people. In addition, we handed out our Koala in a cotton carry bag so that they could take their Koala around with them wherever they went.