You are on a holiday by the sea-side when suddenly the sea seems to heave and swell. The waves begin to appear more like huge walls. It was the fearsome Tsunami. Write a heartrending story of the initial shock followed by the struggle for survival. Recount the devastation caused. (Not less than 100 -120 words) (Hints - How was it that you were by the sea-side? Recreate the setting and the characters around you. What were the things first sighted by you? Recount the struggle to stay afloat. Try to give an interesting end to your story.)
Answers
Answer:
I saw the cataclysm of tsunami today! I am still under the shock! I just wonder at the miracle that saved my life! Though the meteorological department had forewarned us with the prediction after the earthquake, yet we the people had taken it lightly. I saw a huge cloud moving towards the shore. Later on, this cloud turned out to be a colossal wave (approximately 70 feet high). The people who had seen it shouted for running to safety. We sped as far away as we could on our bikes, scooters, and cars. This saved us! Soon it smashed against everything on the shore. Standing on a distant hill we saw the destruction it caused to houses, vehicles, trees, vehicles. All the houses were turned into rubble by its mighty collision. And the collision also reduced its force. Everywhere the vehicles, people, and other things appeared to be floating. It appeared as if hell had been let loose! I thanked God for saving me and my family!
Answer:
In December 2004 I had just become a professional photographer and was working on a project about communities who live on the sea, known as sea nomads. I was living with members of the Chao-Ley tribe on a small island within the Tarutao National Marine Park in southern Thailand. I had a beach bungalow and spent a month getting to know the nomads. We didn’t share a language, and relied on sign and body language to communicate.
I went out to sea with them regularly. The view was paradise. There was the bright blue sea, and dotted on the horizon were small islands that you could see clearly, even though they were 15km away.
On the morning of 26 December, I was due to set out with a group of six Chao-Ley fishermen in a small long-tail boat. It was about 8am, and the sea looked different; sterile and tinged with a grey-silver colour. The water was totally still. I could tell from the way the fishermen were behaving that something wasn’t right. They seemed to be discussing whether or not we should set off, but the eldest, who operated the boat, gave the go-ahead.
About 20 minutes after our departure and a few miles out in the open sea, one of the fishermen pointed to a small white spot far in the distance. We kept an eye on it. It looked like a football. It was getting bigger and bigger very quickly. We had no idea that this was a tsunami wave speeding through the ocean like a tornado.
With a big wave, you would usually try to get as far out as possible into the open sea. The deeper the water, the weaker the wave. But we weren’t far enough out to be safe, nor close enough to the shore to make it back before the wave would hit the land. We were stuck.
When I realised that the nomads were afraid, I began to feel really scared. These men were effectively born on the sea. At some point the elder, the captain, took control. No one panicked or screamed, but they moved quickly. The captain told the six of us where to sit, based on our weight and height, so we would balance out the boat. He asked us to hold on tight.
Experience: I skied off a cliff
My camera was in my rucksack. With the wave just a few hundred metres behind us, I wanted to capture the scene, but I couldn’t. Any movement would imbalance the boat, but I also felt paralysed by the thought of imminent death. I thought, “What’s the point in taking a picture if we are about to be washed overboard?” I was sitting on one of the benches in the middle, with my back facing the five-to-seven-metre-high wave. I took one last look over my shoulder at this monster that was about to hit. I took a very firm grip of my seat, closed my eyes, clenched my teeth and in my mind said goodbye to the world, my family and friends.