Petra Nemcova Talks Surviving 2004 Tsunami (VIDEO)

Supermodel Petra Nemcova sat down with Robin Roberts of "Good Morning America" on Monday to share her story of surviving the 2004 tsunami in Thailand. She was on vacation at the time when the water hit her beachfront resort. Nemcova made it by clinging to a palm tree for eight hours but her then-boyfriend, photographer Simon Atlee, was killed.

Nemcova said that looking at photos of the earthquake in Japan last Friday was horrifying -- "My heart was broken and my love is going to everyone in Japan. It's something so hard to imagine without going through. I can imagine it because of my experiences. You just feel hopelessness." She also discussed the work she's done over the last few years with her charity, Happy Hearts Fund, which helps rebuild children's lives after natural disasters.

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Comments

[maliksmama]

04:31 PM on 03/16/2011

I don't have a problem with her being a beautiful woman. I have a problem with a white woman being the face of a tsunami that affected Asians. If Ms. Roberts was truly interested in the survivors of that disaster, she should have asked the Indonesian children who lost every member of their families, or people who lost everything that they owned, not a white woman who hopped on a plane and left the country right after. Maybe she could have gone to Indonesia to see how the country has recovered since then.

[logic-a-go-go]

07:49 PM on 03/16/2011

Didn't she cling onto a tree for two days and that's how she survived? Didn't her fiance die as they were awoken in their beach house and tried to run for safety? I see your point, but I'd say in this case she has a bit of experience of how deadly tsunamis are.

[hema333]

07:39 AM on 03/16/2011

very good and kind work petra...
i hope others learn from u...
and make like u...

[NikitaAhn]

05:07 PM on 03/14/2011

Is she getting more media attention because she's famous and beautiful? of course. Does that invalidate the horrifying and traumatic experience she lived through, or the effort she'd put into helping others since? NO. Regardless of who she is, how she looks, and how famous she is, she is working to improve the lives of others and speaks about the issue with compassion, intelligence, and sincerity. Did people actually watch her interview? She's right on the money as far as the need to long-term and continued support, not just reactionary short term donations. She's right about the need for schools to provide normalcy and stability for children. And hey - the show was giving a publicity plug to a CHARITY that rebuilds schools for CHILDREN. How is that a bad thing, regardless of who is plugging it?

As angry as it makes me when people are discounted in our culture for being overweight or "unattractive" or not traditionally beautiful, it makes me just as upset when people automatically discount someone because they DO fit the standard of beauty. It's hypocritical. How about we just stop judging ALL people on appearances? Just because someone is tall and thin and traditionally beautiful DOESN'T mean they're automatically vapid, shallow, and mean.

[Cole 33]

04:13 PM on 03/14/2011

Why does it seem Petras looks are the only thing people have a problem with in this interview. Would her experience be more relevant if she was average or less than average looking?

Is having a loved one killed after being swept up by a tsunami and clinging for your life (literally) to a tree for 8 hrs more tragic if you're average looking? I don't get it. There may be a lot of things you can be cynical about regarding the advertising and modeling industry, not sure how Petra be interviewed about her experience applies.

I've actually met Petra a few times through work, and she's incredibly sweet, a very nice person, as humble as they come, and if you'd met after saying something bad about her, you'd feel like a di@k.

[gbeb]

04:07 PM on 03/14/2011

Why is this news? Even if an ABC morning schlock show broadcasts this, why do Huffington Post readers care?

[cvbnm67]

05:15 PM on 03/14/2011

I am sure she is not the only one to survive the tsunami and start a charity, however she is the only model, and that is the story.

[Sandeep Thomas]

02:48 PM on 03/14/2011

I sometimes don't understand journalism, after the Indian Ocean tsunami I spoke to a mother who had to let go of her 4 yr old kid to save her 9 month old baby and had a nervous breakdown while frantically explaining this to rescue workers. I never saw her on any news channels, isn't finding those stories real journalism, don't they generate more empathy among viewers than a millionaire super model's perspective, for the story. Oh! I forgot that will require some work to be done from the journalist's side, being contacted by a model's agent for a plug is much easier.

[alsm9]

10:59 PM on 03/14/2011

Nemcova runs a charity FOR children affected by natural disasters. Good gawd!

[Sandeep Thomas]

11:34 PM on 03/14/2011

I was not commenting abt Ms. Nemcova. I was commenting abt our sensationalist journalism. wow

[Phxgwen]

02:44 PM on 03/14/2011

She is on the media radar because she will be a contestant on Dancing with the Stars.

And for all the fun people make of her.. she was with her boyfriend in a bungalow when the tsunami hit.. it broke through the glass door, it collapsed the bungalow around them, dragged them out, they lost sight of one another as they fought to keep their heads above water as they were caught in the wave.. he drowned.. she was repeatedly pulled under and smashed by debris.. she ended up catching hold of a palm tree where she clung for over 8 hours with serious internal injuries and a broken pelvis.

It doesn't matter if she was a local, a random tourist or a super model.. she survived a horrifying natural disaster by pure luck or divine intervention... she was seriously injured.. she lost someone she loved dearly.. and she was seriously forever changed and effected by the event.

She went back to Thailand as soon as she was physically able to and was so moved by the conditions there she created a charity to benefit the children and families of Thailand. She is extending that to other areas affected by natural disasters.

Her story is a valid one and it is not ridiculous that they would interview her about it.

[kadams9705]

03:51 PM on 03/14/2011

Thank you! Very well put. This super woman not model, actress, or anything significant survived, and now helps other survivors.

[makebofapay]

02:30 PM on 03/14/2011

So have at her you cynics. What would YOU do if you were beautiful and kind? Tear apart others who are doing something positive to help the world heal from a natural disaster? No, you'd sit there in your caves and rip those who are loving, empathetic and generous. Shame on you.

[logic-a-go-go]

07:56 PM on 03/16/2011

"What would YOU do if you were beautiful and kind?" Love that question. Because she should be doing what she feels is the right thing...and if speaking about her experience surviving a tsunami by clinging onto a tree, helps instill compassion for other survivors, then she has done something worthwhile. No one should fault her or anyone else for speaking about their experience as a survivor.

[BlackJAC]

02:20 PM on 03/14/2011

I remember The Soup showing a clip of the modeling reality show she once hosted: the scene showed her asking the other girls what was the worst moment of their lives, listened to at least one of them mention being teased over her height, and then promptly cut them all down with the tsunami story.

[alsm9]

02:37 PM on 03/14/2011

A supermodel who runs a worthy charity http://www.happyheartsfund.org/ . I'm wondering with all the snide comments what everyone else is doing to aid the people of Japan?

[BlackJAC]

02:21 PM on 03/14/2011

How many people do you know survived a tsunami by hanging onto a tree with their bare hands?
 
And I suspect this pretty white chick, along with a large number of other pretty chicks white and otherwise, have long since had you bumped back to 300 feet.

[subdolphin]

12:30 PM on 03/14/2011

The afterquakes aren't even over in Japan and the networks are interviewing a supermodel about her 2004 tsunami experience. Go figure.

[CaroleK1970]

12:41 PM on 03/14/2011

the aftershocks aren't even over in Japan and already the cynics are making snide comments about someone who survived the worst Tsunami in modern times who has started a charity for survivors of tragedy. Go Figure

[smile13]

01:23 PM on 03/14/2011

I am with you. She seems like a lovely human being. We are just so spoiled beyond belief in this country. This is just the beginning of what is to come because of Global Warming....American's are in denial. I will have to say I thought if VERY inappropriate to plug "Dancing With The Stars" during this crises. That was pretty shameful. peace....

[makebofapay]

02:27 PM on 03/14/2011

She is a dear, kind person reaching out to do something positive for others. What do the cynics on this blog do on a daily basis for ANYONE besides tear down and criticize?

[maidenofdforest]

02:02 PM on 03/14/2011

It's not an interview per se because of her pretty face. It's because she has something to share of her ordeal and she has a charity of her own after tragedy struck her. Come to think of it, she could go on the catwalk and relish in her vanity.

Earthquakes can't be over, aftershocks recurrent. Go figure this out.

[subdolphin]

02:30 PM on 03/14/2011

Right, this Japanese thing has dragged on for better than 3 days now, time to move on....What's up with the Beckhams? Aren't they doing something for charity?

[workinman]

12:26 PM on 03/14/2011

Thank God there was a supermodel involved. Who else would we turn to to tell the story of disaster?

[Roland19]

12:35 PM on 03/14/2011

Yeah, that's sort of what I thought, too. On the other hand, maybe this is a question of who an anchor would rather interview: a regular schmoe or a supermodel?

[CaroleK1970]

12:42 PM on 03/14/2011

so your saying ugly people should only be interviewed or have more credibility?

[chavo]

12:53 PM on 03/14/2011

No, but the poster does make a decent point. There are certainly more than just her who speak English who survived that disaster that could have been spoken too. They picked her for her looks.

[dubbleplusgood]

12:55 PM on 03/14/2011

correct.