Petra Nemcova seriously considered quitting Dancing With The Stars to aid the victims of the Japan earthquake and tsunami it is being reported.

It’s a situation she has personal experience with having survived the Thailand tsunami back in 2004 by clinging to a palm tree for 8 hours with a broken pelvis. Her boyfriend at the time, Simon Altee was swept away and died during the tsunami. She described to Good Morning America earlier this week the force of the tsunami:

“The power is so enormous, you feel powerless, you can’t do anything,” Nemcova explained. “The more you fight you lose your energy, so you have to try and stay calm, but there are doors and trees crashing into you. You’re trying to catch your breath but you can’t, you just have to stay calm and alert.”

“My heart is going out to everyone in Japan because of my experience.”

Can you imagine going through that? She did that for 8 hours! But she turned her tragedy into a good cause by starting the Happy Hearts Fund which aids children of natural disasters:

“Happy Hearts Fund comes in after the first responders leave because it can be up to two to 10 years until actual development can be complete in these areas, but Happy Hearts come in immediately where we rebuild schools and that’s when the kids can just be normal again,” she said on “GMA.” “If I could ask anyone for help in Japan I’d ask them to help in the Happy Hearts Fund.”

She was talked into staying on Dancing With The Stars and told she can get her message out the viewers. Dancing With The Stars airs on Monday, March 21, 2011.

If you would like to help the victims of Japan, there is more than one way to donate with Mashable listing 7 different ways.

Photo: Jody Cortes/WENN