Yvonne survived the 2004 tsunami.
On Christmas Day 2004, parts of Asia were devastated by a massive tsunami. Dutchwoman Yvonne Dusser and her father Wim barely survived the disaster. “All I can really remember is holding onto my mattress and screaming loudly: I’m dying! I’m drowning!” she said in Redding after the disaster on NPO 1.
Yvonne and her family loved coming to Thailand for vacation. That was also true of that fateful day in 2004, when a tsunami killed nearly a quarter of a million people. “I was in the shower when I heard a knock on my door. I stuck my head out to see what was happening,” she said. “At that moment I saw all this black water rushing under my door. Before I knew it, the bottom of the door had broken.
Are you already receiving our free newsletter? Sign up here and never miss a thing from WNL!
In no time, the room was filling with water. “The only thing I can remember is holding onto the mattress and screaming, ‘I’m dying! I’m drowning!’” Yvonne says. Her father carried her out of the room, but when the second wave arrived, she was still being swept away by the raging water.
Canadian Sarah and Dutch Manager
Yvonne lost her father shortly after the tsunami. With a stomach injury, she was taken to the hospital. There she received the medical help she needed and met Sarah, a Canadian who had also lost her family. Sarah and Yvonne never left each other until they found their families again.
“We are in it then guest house We ended up at the place where she was staying and were warmly welcomed there. “Also by the manager who was hanging around there at the time,” says Yvonne. The manager was also Dutch and offered to help her find her father, which eventually worked. They never saw each other again after that.
Twenty years later, Yvonne would like to thank two of her rescuers. Will Wilmoed be able to track down Sarah and the Dutch manager? Watch the post-disaster rescue on NPO 1 on Tuesday at 9.20pm.
By: Matthias Molblok