First-Hand Account of the Jakarta Tsunami

The Washington Post has up one of the few first-hand accounts of the Jakarta Tsunami. Pretty amazing stuff.

Then I noticed that the water around me was rising, climbing up the rock walls of the island with astonishing speed. The vast circle of golden sand around Welligama Bay was disappearing rapidly, and the water had reached the level of the coastal road fringed with palm trees...In less than a minute, the water level had risen at least 15 feet -- but the sea itself remained calm, barely a wave in sight....Within minutes, the beach and the area behind it had become an inland sea, rushing over the road and pouring into the flimsy houses on the other side. The speed with which it all happened seemed like a scene from the Bible -- a natural phenomenon unlike anything I had experienced before...After a few minutes, the water stopped rising, and I felt it was safe to swim to the shore. What I didn't realize was that the floodwaters would recede as dramatically as they had risen...

All of a sudden, I found myself being swept out to sea with startling speed. Although I am a fairly strong swimmer, I was unable to withstand the current. The fishing boats around me had been torn from their moorings and were furiously bobbing up and down.

Wow. I am so glad the area of the world where I live is nearly devoid of disasters. The worst we ever have is snowstorms and the occasional last few gasps of life in a hurricane.