Category: Tsunami Tragedy

The calm sea of Teluk Kumbar 4 days after the tsunami.

At the Teluk Kumbar fishing village, the sea suddenly retreated. And then it came back rushing ferociously and unceasingly up the beach. There was no time to think but react on the most basic human instinct of fight or flight. She chose flight, with the angry advancing sea in hot pursuit behind her. It overtook her in no time. The debris and silt that got washed up by the waves made the escape treacherous and difficult. She ran into her house which was barely 50 meters from the shoreline at the highest tide. Sea water gushed into the house inundating anything and everything that was on its way. Fortunately the front wall of her house weakened the force of the waves. She escaped with no injury.

A mess of upturned boats and damaged nets at Pulau Betong

After the tsunami had taken almost all of their belongings came thieves who took the rest of it. There have been cases of boats, engines and nets that survived the devastating waves that went missing thereafter. While the victims of Pulau Betong were cleaning up their houses, busy salvaging their possessions and helping neighbours in this time of need, some ruthless people were taking the opportunity to steal from them. Those boats and fishing equipment were the only things left that could help them rebuild their lives and now that is gone too. My cousin?s husband had to move his boat further upriver to prevent that.

In a short while, I will most probably be bumming around Gurney Drive with Wuan. The seaside is not the best place to be at this moment but we have been planning for this break since the beginning of the year. We are taking our chances and hope that Penang will not be hit by another tsunami. Besides, I need to get away from accessing the Internet for a while to stop my emotions from being overloaded by all the grim images of this catastrophe. This blog will not be updated in the next few days. Take care people.