Gage Omana

November 12, 2017

Natural Disasters

The Impossible
Disasters in Movies
 Imagine going on vacation to a beautiful island. Lots of sunshine,

plenty of palm trees. You’re in complete paradise. Nothing could distract

you from the pure ecstasy of getting away from all the hustle and bustle;

being on this island is all about rest and relaxation, forgetting yourself for a

while. All of which comes instantly screeching to halt. You hear an awful

noise, a noise which sounds like a thousand trains barreling at you all at

once. Suddenly, you see a wall of water which stretches one hundred feet

in the air and it’s crashing towards you at a speed which you cannot

outrun[ CITATION Osk13 \l 1033 ]. These horrors came to life in the movie The Impossible; the story is

true and follows a family vacationing in Thailand who were caught in the 2004 tsunami which struck

Southeast Asia.

The Impossible is about the 2004 tsunami which occurred in Southeast Asia, one of the largest

and deadliest ever recorded in current history. It shows how powerful tsunami’s can be and the damage

they can wreak to a city’s infrastructure and the individuals within it. As I stated earlier, this story is true

and the tsunami is the root to the premise of the adventure which unfolds. One moment the family is

peacefully island paradise and the next thing they know, chaos is upon them. Everyone and everything

gets carried away immediately by the ocean waves. After some time, the family is separated and must

find their way to safety. Maria, and her oldest son Lucas, miraculously find each other amidst the

destruction. It seems like days until rescue comes searching for them, they eventually get taken back to

a hospital for treatment. Henry, and his two younger sons Thomas and Simon, somehow also end up

stranded together. Both parties of the family know in the back of their minds their loved ones are most
likely dead or dying alone in the wreckage but throughout the course of the story they never lose hope

in finding their way back to each other.

Unsurprisingly, the deadly tsunami which struck Southeast Asia was a result of the largest

earthquake since the Great Alaska Earthquake of 1964. Both earthquakes were a magnitude nine,

placing them second and third on the list of the twenty largest earthquakes ever recorded in the world. [

CITATION 20L17 \l 1033 ] NewScientist.com reported this amount of energy release to be “…equivalent

to the explosion of 475,000 kilotons of TNT, or 23,000 Hiroshima-sized atomic bombs” [ CITATION

Pic05 \l 1033 ] https://gph.is/XGBiWp

I thought the creators of this film did an excellent job depicting the kind of horrific action which

follows a tsunami. They showed people trying to run away but no one could escape, especially those

who were on the beach. Another awesome scene gives you a realistic perspective of what it would be

like to be caught in the rush of water. They did this by showing underwater footage with debris flying at

the characters, spinning them around, even the camera gets knocked around to give you the feeling like

you were there. It shows the mother and son both helplessly trying to stay afloat despite the extreme

strength of the waves. I was surprised that they even included a tsunami train, which is a series of waves

crashing in. Also, they brought in a real life causes for the aftermath since Thailand is a rather

impoverished area. Some of these included: waiting for help, poor planning, limited medical attention,

and not enough resources.

All in all, I’d say I really enjoyed this movie. It gave me a great sense of appreciation to be born

and raised in a first-world country where there is better disaster planning, strong intercity infrastructure,

money, and lots of people to help in times of disaster.

References
20 Largest Earthquakes in the World. (n.d.). Retrieved November 17, 2017, from USGS Earthquake

Hazards Program: https://earthquake.usgs.gov/earthquakes/browse/largest-world.php

Oskin, B. (2013, June 17). No, You Can't Outrun a Tsunami. Retrieved November 15, 2017, from Live

Science: https://www.livescience.com/37497-no-outrunning-tsunami.html

Pickrell, J. (2005, January 20). Facts and Figures: Asian Tsunami Disaster. Retrieved November 15, 2017,

from New Scientist: https://www.newscientist.com/article/dn9931-facts-and-figures-asian-

tsunami-disaster/