From correspondents in London
January 1, 2005

A 10-year-old British schoolgirl saved the lives of hundreds of people in
southern Asia by warning them a wall of water was about to strike, after
learning about tsunamis in geography class. Tilly was holidaying with her
family on the Thai island of Phuket when she suddenly grasped what was
taking place and alerted her mother.

"Last term Mr Kearney taught us about earthquakes and how they can cause
tsunamis. I was on the beach and the water started to go funny. There were
bubbles and the tide went out all of a sudden. I recognised what was
happening and had a feeling there was going to be a tsunami."

Her intuition was enough to raise the alert and prompt the evacuation of
Phuket's Maikhao beach and a neighbouring hotel before the water came
crashing in, saving hundreds of people from death and injury. No-one on
Maikhao beach was seriously hurt by the tsunamis.