SUPERMODEL Petra Nemcova has opened up on the daily struggles she still faces 20 years after she survived a deadly tsunami.
Speaking on Good Morning America, the Czech philanthropist and TV host relieved the horrific moment she was caught up in the 2004 tsunami that tore through southeast Asia.
Nemcova, 45, was on a dream vacation in Thailand with Simon Atlee, her fashion photographer boyfriend, when deadly waves ripped through their bungalow.
Atlee was swept out to sea and died while Nemcova survived by clinging to a palm tree for almost eight hours.
She suffered internal bleeding and broken bones in what was one of the largest natural disasters in recorded history, killing an estimated 228,000 people across 15 countries.
Nemcova spoke to ABC News’ Diane Sawyer in the months following the tragedy.
Now, she has sat down again with Sawyer to discuss the “moment when my life changed forever.”
Nemcova said Atlee and she were packing up to leave their resort in Khao Lak on the coast of the Andaman Sea in southern Thailand when the tsunami hit on December 30, 2004.
Suddenly, massive waves smashed through their bungalow, pulling Atlee out into the water.
Nemcova said she clung desperately onto the top of a palm tree, holding on for nearly eight hours before being rescued.
As she held on for dear life, she said she heard the screams of people including young children crying out for help.
“I couldn’t go and swim to them or try to help them because I couldn’t move my legs,” she said in her original 2005 interview.
Eventually, locals rescued her and gave her clothes after they were torn off by the force of the storm.
She had suffered a shattered pelvis and internal injuries, and couldn’t move, so the strangers placed her on a floating mattress and guided her through the debris so she could receive medical help.
Atlee’s body was finally identified almost three months later on March 4, 2005.
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