A Close Brush With The Tsunami

I had never heard so many ambulance sirens in one day. Nor had seen helicopters hovering above sea to look for people or bodies that might have been stranded or floating in the sea either. Roads were blocked and most of the police and bomba (firemen) of Penang were mobilised. It was a very fateful family trip to Penang.

During Sunday we checked into our hotel by the sea at Tanjung Bungah around 1:40pm in the afternoon. Sis and I went out of the hotel excitedly to check out the beach, but something told us there was something unusual about that particular day. One of the hotel managers was talking solemnly on the walkie talkie , and ordering people to clear the beach.There was urgency in his voice:" There are children swimming there, ask them to come up!" as he commanded his surboordinates to go along the coastline to get the people up.

Beyond the beach we saw waves were gathering, the sea was choppy and there were some sampans straying.Then from the manager that we knew that Sumatra was hit by an earthquake and it has triggered tidal waves that hit the coastline of Penang. Lucky for us, Tanjung Bungah , which is several kilometres away from Batu Ferringhi, was sheltered in a way and besides a series of waves that sent sand sendiments onto the elevated platform of the hotel, no damage was incurred. Ignorant about the gravity of the entire incident, we went up to our rooms to unpack.

Then we realised how serious the entire incident was when everyone was ordered to stay in, and we were told that many people were killed already at Telok Bahang, Balik Pulau, Batu Ferringhi and other places. News started to pour in from TV, and sirens of police cars and ambulances sounded incessantly. When we drove out for dinner at night, there was a massive jam as roads were blocked due to certain areas being badly hit or in precaution of incoming waves, Dad had to dodge to one side a few times to allow police cars to pass through. We managed to catch a few glimpses of the aftermath of the destruction: wrecked sampans, fallen pondoks, and alot of mud along the coasts.

The next day, one-third of the hotel occupants have left in fear of the aftermath tremors that might trigger more waves.Dad woke up at seven just to catch the latest news. Then about 11000 people had died across Asia. The worst hit being Sri Lanka and India state of Tamil Nadu. According to experts, it took about TWO HOURS for the tidal waves to reach the shorelines of Sri Lanka and India from the epicenter, had the people staying at the hit areas been informed earlier via advanced communications system, they only needed FIFTEEN MINUTES to evacuate into the safe inlands. But because there was no such technology to warn them, they were caught totally unprepared. Yes, IF ONLY they are NOT POOR, IF ONLY they had the WARNING SYSTEM, IF ONLY… It is really sad, that poverty seems to be always the cause of deaths directly/indirectly, as if poor people’s lives are less worthy. On the newspaper were pics of dead bodies being lined up like dolls for sale, and of little dead babies who looked so serene as though they have just only fallen asleep. It was heart-wrenching.

Now the death toll has hit nearly 24000. The worst hit area in Malaysia is Penang, accounting about 50 deaths to date. Malaysia too, is unequipped with the technology of early warning systems. Those dead were caught entirely off-guard when the ferocious tidal waves raged in and engulfed them, most were fishermen, or family members who were having a good time picnicking and fishing. The waves were too sudden. Because of the lack of expertise, there can be no precise prediction of when exactly the aftermath tremors will hit the coast again, the only advise that one can obtain from news casters is:” Berjaga-jagalah (be careful)”

We continued to stay at the hotel for the second night (Monday night) despite the imminent waves, thinking that we were quite safe but TV reports of unfathomable aftermath tremors that will trigger tidal waves anytime injected certain amount of fear in us. Mom got all jittery and wondered if we should leave immediately but it was already dark so we decided to just stop frightening ourselves and stayed on. It was a night of fitful sleep, our room was facing the sea less than twenty metres away, and the image of giant wave crashing through the glass window and sweeping us away was very real, or so I imagined. In the middle of the night I woke up to loud crashes of waves hitting the shores and walked to the window to take a look, preparing to shout out loud and flee if there were giant waves. The waves were loud and ferocious alright, but not to the point of being threatening, with a relieved heart I went back to my bed. I guess the waves could not really that threatening when they couldn't even wake my Dad who was blissfully snoring away on another bed, hee.

We left the hotel right after breakfast. These two days at Penang had been so eventful that we had become restless and longed to come back home. We may not be directly affected by the whole disaster but being within the proximity of it made us feel so vulnerable, and saddened by the idea that so many people’s lives were being claimed by the ruthless waves just kilometers away. The whole gravity of the catastrophe weighed us down more than it would have been had we still stayed in KL.

My heart goes to all the casualties and those who are bereaved of them.