A CHEPSTOW councillor who survived the South-East Asian tsunami is remembering the devastation 10 years on, describing his memories of what was “like a disaster movie”.

Cllr Armand Watts, member for Thornwell, was caught up in the 2004 Boxing Day tsunami, which killed more than 250,000 people and affected 13 different countries.

The councillor and his companion were on holiday in Krabi, southern Thailand, on the day of the disaster after they had taken a boat around the peninsula before heading to the mainland for an elephant trek.

It was there that they were told that their resort had been totally devastated by waves of up to 10 metres, which followed the 9.0 magnitude earthquake in the Indian Ocean.

He said: “It was like a disaster movie there were people running in different directions. The wave had cut right through our resort -– we were left with next to nothing, only what we had on and one mobile.

“There were a lot of lives lost there -– the resort was wiped out. The hotel on the mainland was used as a hospital – it was chaos.”

A resort worker from the resort went into Cllr Watts’s room and managed to retrieve his credit card and a suitcase of clothes.

He said: “We were really lucky. It’s one of those moments in your life when you reflect on what life is about. I wondered why I was not on that beach? How did I avoid it?”

The councillor was evacuated to Bangkok before returning to the UK a week later. His first trip back after the disaster was in 2005, but he says he would never go back to the Rayavadee resort.

He said: “I still wake up most days and wonder -– it has changed my world.”

“This year is very significant with the 10-year anniversary. On a personal level it just puts everything into focus – the day to day.”

He added: “I have strong links with Thailand – I try to go back whenever I can – it’s a beautiful country with very generous people.

“Everyone I spoke with who was there 10 years ago has found some way of going back in the last few years.

“To try and find some way of remembering it.”