Phi Phi Tsunami Dive Camp
The Phi Phi Tsunami Dive Camp was started on the 18th February 2005 as a response to the damage caused by the 2004 tsunami. Two months after the tsunami the beaches around Phi Phi were still covered in dangerous debris such as glass, metal, and toxic substances. The adjacent coral reefs were also subject too continuing damage from debris and it was obvious that in order to restore the islands to their former glory a major clean up operation would need to be organized.
First Weeks  We applied ourselves for the first few weeks in the shallow sandy areas just off the beach. This first area was heavily littered and immediately obvious was the amount of debris that was partially or completely buried by sand. The closer to the beach the more items were buried. In some cases we found items such as bicycles, cement mixers, cabinets, and washing machines buried deep within the sand but with portions exposed that could cause injuries. To cope with this we constructed a D.I.Y. sand dredger from 2" PVC piping and connected it to the low-pressure supply of a scuba tank. Although the 'airlift' was able to lift the sand, we found that the air supply was far from enough for the amount of work it was needed for. Therefore we decided to leave heavily buried items to a later date when we would be better prepared. We constructed a makeshift pontoon out of kayaks and proceeded to collect debris with divers underneath and snorkelers on the surface. In the first couple of weeks we removed approximately 10 tons of debris and averaged 25 volunteers per day. Change of plan  Although from an aesthetic point of view and also because of the potential hazards to bathers the shallow beach areas are important to be cleared, we decided it would be better to focus our attention on reef areas that would more immediately benefit from the clean up. Although there was a huge amount of debris on the sandy substrate, it was obvious that these areas could wait, whereas areas that had debris covering corals seemed more important in order to prevent further damage to the corals. Therefore with the use of a boat hired from Phi Phi Scuba, divers and snorkelers proceeded to work along the shallow reef fringing the west side of Tonsai Bay. Surface support crews were assigned jobs according to individual skills and experience. Jobs included in-water assistants, kayak duties, pontoon managers, boat staff, and beach crews. The objective of the surface crews was to streamline efforts made by the divers and to collect the debris located by the divers. At this time we found that due to the amount of debris a ratio of 3 snorkelers per diver was appropriate. On days where we found we had lesser numbers in the surface teams the divers found themselves wasting time waiting for equipment and support. Note It is important to carefully monitor the actions of people whenever working around coral areas. Enthusiasm and the desire to help quite often leads to people attempting to do things beyond the scope of what is possible and can cause more damage than good. We found ourselves needing to repeat time and again the importance of only attempting to do what was really possible. At this point we were also given permission by the local 'Or Bor Tor' to dismantle the floating pier and use it as a workstation.  The divers were split into buddy teams and were provided lines with plastic bags attached to them. (These lines were long enough to reach from the bottom to the surface). They would attach these lines to items too big to place into bags, but items still light enough to be pulled up by hand to the surface. Buddy teams were instructed that only one person would tie off items whilst the other buddy would carry all the lines and a couple of spare net bags. Target items included sheets of corrugated metal, pieces of timber, plastics etc. Once the divers had surfaced enough marker bags the snorkelers would reposition the floating pontoon to the area and then pull up the items and place them onto the pontoon. Colored bags were used to help the snorkelers identify which items could be pulled up. Green bags for lift able items, red bags for items that would need a lifting device to bring them up later. After using all the lines available the divers would use the net bags to collect smaller items like plastics, clothing etc. Note We found pontoons very useful as workstations rather than having boats moving around the area, which made the divers very uncomfortable when they heard the engines above them. Another system used by a previous clean up agency was to tie plastic bags to the item and then attempt to float the item to the surface. We found a number of these objects (with their bags deflated) on different parts of the reef. During this time emphasis was on removing as much metal and timbers as possible that could damage the coral through collision or by covering the corals. Buried In Sand  When the tsunami swept over the peninsular, it first pushed all of the debris into the sea, and in so doing displaced thousands of tons of sand. Probably the hardest obstacle to tackle during this project was removing items such as refrigerators, washing machines beds that were imbedded in the sand. Although this increased the amount of work, an even more important issue was to avoid stirring up sand in areas close to corals to avoid sediment ion. Therefore divers were instructed to carefully remove sand from items (especially sheets of metal) as low to the bottom as possible, so that when lifted to the surface there was very little disturbance and the sand could settle quicker. We strongly recommend to any other clean up projects to minimize disturbing the sand as little as possible. Heavy Lifting Crews Whilst most of the divers worked in one area lining off items a second team worked in another area lifting larger objects using 40 ltr water tanks. This job was only assigned to certain divers with adequate experience and all other divers were cautioned to stay away from the heavy lifting team. Although quite primitive we found using plastic tanks extremely effective and cheap for lifting even the largest roofs. Since our working depth was from 2 to 9 meters it was not difficult to raise items safely once a good system was found. Once raised the item would be dragged onto the beach by the surface crews. Note Many of the roof sections removed were already beginning to deteriorate. One worry was that the roof sections could fall apart on ascent. It was important to attach reinforcement ropes to sections of roof to keep the roof intact prior to raising. March  During March the DMCR arrived in Loh Da Lum Bay to complete the removal of debris started by them on previous occasion. Our teams joined the DMCR to assist for the day and the general consensus was that there was hardly any debris left to remove in this bay. By the middle of March we had collected approx 35 tons of debris and we were averaging 40 volunteers per day (10 to 15 divers) including 10 Thai staff. The funding for the project was now covering the wages for the Thai staff and accommodation and food for all long-term volunteers, boat and tank rental, equipment for cleaning and other necessary items. The debris that we had collected was removed and placed onto barges by the private company commissioned by the government to collect the debris on the land. In total they filled 10 truckloads with the items that were recovered. Prior to starting the Phi Phi tsunami Dive Camp the Thai Marine Department had been also working in the area and had left behind a very large pontoon that was piled full with debris. After noticing that some of this debris was starting to blow back into the sea, we chose to commandeer the pontoon, remove the debris, and use the pontoon for our project. This helped us immensely and we proceeded to use this pontoon adjacent to our 2 other smaller pontoons for the next few weeks. For the following month we stayed in exactly the same area due to the amount of debris. We were systematically moving along as each section was cleared, or to a point where we would have to return later with the sand dredger. APRIL and the R.A.I.D. team  At the beginning of April we were joined by a French Police team called R.A.I.D. consisting of 18 professional French police divers. The French Red Cross and the French Embassy funded them jointly. Arranging the group to come was difficult as some of the authorities had stated that all the work had already been completed and there was no longer any use for them. They assisted in raising some of the larger items including a 7-ton roof that had been washed into the sea intact. This proved to be very difficult and eventually we dragged it out to deeper water, stripped it down as much as possible and have now left it to create an artificial reef. In total the French team worked for 2 weeks and assisted in removing 20 - 30 tons of debris. Also assisting the French team was the Marine Department, using a zodiac and the large Marine Dept. boat. On departure the Marine Department took back the pontoon that we had been using to great success. The pontoon was then towed to Krabi where it was disassembled and left on the mainland. April 13th, Songkran Day, A Body Is Recovered  On the 13th April we discovered the first and the only corpse of a woman that was discovered partially buried beneath a roof and sand at 6 meters depth. The extraction was a slow one due to working underwater in visibility of one meter. We also needed to be sure to not to lose any items that could possibly help identify the corpse. Volunteers Eko Lapp, Andrew Hewett and Kay Newton were deputized along with Thai Rescue Diver Wang to remove the body. The removal took about 7 hours and was then transferred to Krabi by the local Thai Tourist Police. We had a very strict protocol in place in the event any bones were found. Each bone finding meant that all other work needed to be discontinued while the 'Rescue' divers investigated the area. That was the last we ever heard of the body we found. Note Considering the state of the area that we found the body and the amount of buried debris there, it was prudent to assume that there could be more bodies in that area. We had just completed building a new 'airlift' sand dredger which was attached to an old second hand compressor. To reduce the amount of disturbance of the sand, we also built a filtering tank that helped us to deposit the sand again in another area. Creating a 'coral friendly' sand dredger was a difficult but important task. In the middle of April our teams moved to the tip of Tonsai bay and we proceeded to work back into the bay cleaning both the reef and the beaches. This whole coastline (Tonsai Bay west side) cleaned to about 95%. Most of the work involved here was for snorkelers in the very shallow areas and so our teams were split up to cover 2 areas, with the snorkelers in one and the dive team and their support in another. Our floating pontoons were moved out to the area and we commissioned more longtail boats to ferry the debris from the beaches back to our main dumping zone. Unnecessary Obstruction of Work At this point we were instructed by the local authorities to stop dumping debris at the west end of Tonsai Beach as it was deemed too awkward to remove the debris at a latter date. This we found to be inaccurate advice due to the fact that for the previous 2 months the trucks and diggers had already been removing the debris from this area. The result was due to effect us over the next 2 months as we were forced to tow our pontoons to the far end of the bay which cost us time, manpower and money.  Pattern Forming From the quantity of large deposits of debris in certain areas, it was possible to dictate the journey made by the tsunami. The larger of the waves entered Loh Da Lum Bay from the north west, traveled into the bay until it met the land on the east side and was forced around the headland until it was traveling south west. The wave then passed over the peninsular where it encountered a smaller wave entering from the opposite direction. The smaller wave was counted out by the larger wave and the larger wave continued through taking 90% of the debris into Tonsai Bay. As the wave receded from the land it took with it debris, the top layer of sand (both on land and in the shallow waters) and a large amount of the shallow water corals and drew them out to sea. From their point of origin, heavier items like building materials, metals and large lumber traveled less distance, sank quicker and the debris more concentrated, whereas lighter and more buoyant items like plastics traveled further, sank slower and the debris was further spread out. Some of the information from eyewitness accounts of people swept along by the tsunami was used to reinforce this hypothesis. By the end of the April, we were averaging 80 volunteers per day including 30 paid Thai staff and had removed 80 tons of debris. The most common item to remove was the corrugated sheet metal. Unfortunately, the most awkward material to remove was also the sheet metal as it was usually covered in sand. May  The pier At the end of April we once again moved locations and started working in the area next to the pier. At the same time we started to use a new collection method with the use of the lift bags and nets that were donated to us by the French team R.A.I.D. Teams of 3 or 4 divers laid large nets on the bottom (each marked with a marker buoy) and proceeded to fill the net with as much as it could hold. Smaller net bags were deployed for collecting smaller debris and once full were placed also in the large nets. Once the net was full, the marker buoys was replaced for a safety sausage to indicate the net was ready for lifting. A second team of 2 divers would sew the large net into a packet and then lift it with two 100 kg lift bags. Surface snorkelers would then tie the net to a long tail boat which would tow the net to the beach where the beach team then emptied the nets onto the dumping site. This method was extremely successful and we increased our speed and volume of recovery immensely. Items recovered next to the pier included a lot of large masonry. Thousands of paving slabs, bricks and mortar were removed. These littered the beach area from 0m - 7m depth. Surface teams worked for weeks walking the shallows and picking up the masonry by hand. The bricks collected were then used to repair roads around the island that were damaged. Many coconut trees were also washed into the sea and due to their immense size were seen as a possible threat to live corals as they were quite buoyant and therefore could easily float into corals. We believe at least 30 tons of coconut trees were removed during the course of the dive camp work. June, July  By the end of May and due to the high tides during this period most of the accessible work for the snorkelers was complete. There was still work to be done by the snorkel crews but this was limited to periods of the low tides. Snorkel teams and beach crews focused on removing debris on the east coast of Loh Da Lum Bay. Due to the rocky terrain it was quite a difficult job operating in the area. Although there was a lot of tsunami debris in this area, much of the debris was pre-tsunami. Large surf coming in from the west made it impossible for the boats to beach in order to transport the collected debris to our main dumping area, so all the debris was collected and bagged for removal at a later date. Meanwhile during the low tide periods the beach teams walked through the shallow sand flats, removing rice sacks, masonry and plastics. One of the pontoons was towed around to Loh Da Lum Bay. During the monsoon season we saw a drop in numbers to 55 volunteers per day. Fortunately we were protected in Tonsai Bay from the heavy wave action, but the strong winds travelled across the peninsular making it cold and hard work for our surface support teams. Some days we were forced to stop work due to strength of the wind and the risk of flying metal. Sand Dredger  Construction of our new sand dredger was completed. It consisted of a second hand low pressure compressor attached to two 2" flexible hoses that could draw the sand up to a 1600 liter depositing tank. The tank had a 4" dumping hose that was extendable and deposited the sand away from the area and close to the bottom, thus reducing the amount of sedimentation. Work for the sand dredger around the pier where we found one of the highest levels of buried items, was completed and we then moved to the front of Arida Resort where the bulk of the work was buried sheets of corrugated metal. At this time we had 4 teams working in different areas. One team was finishing collecting small and loose debris next to the pier. A second team was working with the sand dredger and lift bags to remove partially buried items. A third team was working in the last heavily littered area in front of 'Arida' and the fourth team was working on the fringing rocks and beaches in Loh Da Lum Bay. On hindsight it would have been better if had more heavy machinery for lifting and pulling. Money saved in not using these machines was money lost in time and energy.  Biggest Obstacles 1. Sand covering debris and how to deal with it without causing further damage to corals. 2. Lack of experienced divers. 3. Lack of divers with Marine Biology background. 4. Lack of support of by NGO's and other organizations with greater experience. August  Although we still organized daily beach clean up until January 2006, the Phi Phi Dive Camp officially stopped running daily dive tsunami clean ups for scuba divers on the 14th August 2005. This was due to the fact that it was becoming increasingly difficult to find any debris underwater since work had been so thorough. The beach clean ups then expanded to Bamboo Island, Phi Phi Ley Island and the beaches on the west side of Phi Phi Don Island. Periodic underwater clean ups 4 or 5 times per month were conducted as the tides would displace sand to reveal more debris. These clean ups continued until April 2006. Personal Items Recovered Any items found on the reef were of extreme importance in verifying the presence of any of the 300 hundred people reportedly still missing. All items discovered were carefully logged and itemized. These included wallets, I.D. cards, credit cards, passports, boat licenses and personal telephone books. Any valuables found with these items were also logged and kept with the items. All documents belonging to Thai nationals were returned directly to the persons if recognized as Phi Phi residents, or presented to the Krabi Police department. All documents belonging to foreign nationals were presented to the specific embassies or DVI teams where available. Funding  The success of the Phi Phi Dive Camp was partly due in fact to providing volunteers with food and accommodation during their stay on the islands. This offer was strictly available to people that stayed and worked daily for more than two weeks, but this created a workforce that could not have been matched in any other way. Funding came from a number of NGO's and many private donors. Funds were used for the following: . Thai staff wages and accommodation. . Accommodation for all foreign long-term volunteers. . Lunch and dinner for all foreign and Thai staff. . Long tail boat rentals . Dive boat rentals . Tank rentals . Equipment Rentals . Lifting equipment and other supplies . Office supplies . Medical equipment Also subsidizing the camp were funds received from the sales of items recovered from underwater that were unidentifiable (not belonging to anyone). Sales of DVDs, the PPDC t-shirts and fund raising events by the Reggae Bar and Carlito's Bar further helped to subsidize the work. We would like to give a special thanks to the Piers Simon Appeal Fund and the Pacific Asia Travel Association for their generosity and support without which none of the work would have been achieved. Funding 2005 was a busy year for the dive camp. We: . Employed and housed up to 20 Thai staff per month . Coordinated the support of nearly 4,000 volunteers . Conducted a total of 154 uninterrupted dive days followed by 6 months of periodic clean ups . Cleaned every beach in the Phi Phi island group of 6 islands . Surveyed and assessed the condition of all the reefs in the island group . Recovered hundreds of personal documents . Removed over 300 tons of debris . Recovered one missing person Finally, to the thousands of volunteers that travelled across the world to come to the aid of the Phi Phi Islands, we wish to say a BIG, BIG thank you; for your time, energy and humanity. |
