|
Not only the tribes, but also wild animals understand the signs of imminence long before any seismographic warning system - that is not existing here anyway - might have warned anybody. The last about 50 Sentilese had moved inlands or to
higher places of the island. No dead wild animal, such as elephants for example, could be found either - another indicator for natural instinct.
In the meantime, the Tsunami is rolling in eastern direction, inexorably,
towards the coastal area of Thailand and Myanmar. Almost the whole Thai coast is a
tourist spot at high season over Christmas. All hotels are fully booked -
as every year about this time. The seaquake has happened about 90 minutes
back, when now the first wave reaches Phuket and Khao Lak. At this point
of time, in Indonesia about 100,000 people at least have lost their lives already.
The sea takes lives of local and foreign people as well in Phuket as in Phi Phi Island. Most people die in Khao Lak - extended beaches with an open waterfront, hotels most closely to the beach, are destructed by the
waves. Most hotel employees and guests lose their lives - nothing much was
left there. On the western side of the Indian Ocean, the wave is heading towards the
srilankan and indian coast: This takes about 120 minutes. The East Coast
of Sri Lanka, and especially Arugam Bay - famous to surfers all over the
word for its huge waves anyway - was affected most. Like Khao Lak, we
find open beachfront hotels here - of which not much was left after the Tsunami waves which were extremely high there. Many local and foreign people were killed here as well, but -
compared to Thailand - you will not find any good infrastructure here. The only bridge to the mainland is destroyed, and one can still clearly realize the
consequences of the
Civil War. In the meantime, the lethal wave is rolling on - onto the Indian coast, over the Maledive and Seychelle Islands, even - after 7 hours or more -
to the East-African coast, where it raises the death toll for a last time.
|
