Phuket island

- Phuket island in Thailand was attacked a tsunami a long time ago. Even excellent swimmers couldn't survive.

- Is this sentence natural to say?

Thanks so much!

namloan said:

- Phuket island in Thailand was attacked a tsunami a long time ago. Even excellent swimmers couldn't survive.

- Is this sentence natural to say?

Thanks so much!

Click to expand...

EDIT: See below for one more correction.

A small point first - I think island should be capitalised: Island.

Two things sound unnatural to me. First, a tsunami does not "attack", it "hits".

Secondly, the tsunami occurred in 2004, which for most people is not a long time ago, although it possibly could be in some contexts.

My version:

Phuket Island in Thailand was hit a tsunami in 2004. Even excellent swimmers couldn't survive.

Munch said:

My version:

Phuket Island in Thailand was hit a tsunami in 2004. Even excellent swimmers couldn't survive.

Click to expand...

You'd probably agree to inserting "by" - "was hit by a tsunami".

Raymott said:

You'd probably agree to inserting "by" - "was hit by a tsunami".

Click to expand...

Yes, thanks Raymott, I missed that! It definitely needs "by".