When the Samoa tsunami struck, one of the first to raise the alarm was an 11-year-old New Zealand girl holidaying with her family.
Her warning cries gave others time to escape, and tonight her actions were recognised at the Safety in the City awards ceremony in Wellington.
Abby Wutzler had learnt about tsunamis at school, and recognised the receding water at the beach meant her family were in trouble.
“I just panicked and went a bit bizarre and run up and down the beach yelling ‘tsunami’, apparently I saved a lot of people and I got an email from some people not to long ago saying ‘thankyou’,” she says.
Abby's actions and award have made her a rock star at her local school - and rightly so.
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