http://news.smh.com.au/breaking-news-world/australian-survivor-recalls-tsunami-20101026-172j0.html
Australian survivor recalls tsunami
October 26, 2010 - 10:49PM
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AFP
As soon as he felt the quake underneath his boat, Rick Hallet's thoughts turned to the possibility of a tsunami sweeping into the bay where his vessel was anchored off the Mentawai islands.
Scanning the sea Hallet -- and the 15 others aboard his boat -- he saw a wall of water headed his way.
Recounting the moments after the powerful 7.7 magnitude quake struck the region, which is west of Indonesia's Sumatra island, Hallet, an Australian who runs a boat-chartering business in Sumatra, said: "We heard an almighty roar."
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"I immediately thought of a tsunami and looked out to sea and that's when we saw the wall of white water coming at us.
"The bay we were in was several hundred metres across and the wall of white water was from one side to the other, it was quite scary," he told Fairfax Radio Network.
A boat anchored next to them was first to feel the force of the surge.
"The wave picked that boat up and brought it towards us and ran straight into us and our boat exploded, caught on fire; we had a fireball on the back deck and right through the saloon within seconds," he said.
Thinking fast, the group -- including nine Australians -- jumped into the water as their boat exploded. Some were swept 200 metres inland, climbing trees to get beyond the reach of the surge and waiting for more than 20 minutes for the waves to pass.
All from Hallet's boat were accounted for.
They were among the lucky ones. The tsunami left at least 23 dead and scores missing across remote island villages, according to local officials.
Nine Australians and a Japanese man who were believed to be aboard another boat in the area were missing on Tuesday.
The missing group of surfers were on a traditional wooden boat, the Southern Cross, skippered by an Australian Chris Scurrah and Japanese Akinori Fujita.
SurfAid, a charity set up a decade ago to help villagers in the Mentawai region, said the boat was believed to be close to the quake's epicentre.
Dave Jenkins, SurfAid's founder, said Scurrah had "been around here for a long time. He knew to contact in if he could. So that's why we're extra concerned."
A search and rescue mission for the Southern Cross had been launched, Jenkins said.
"We do have increasingly worrying reports of quite high numbers of people who are missing in villages," he said, adding that he hopes to have accurate information on the missing boat by Wednesday.
Australia waited anxiously for news of its missing nationals. Foreign Minister Kevin Rudd said his government would continue to monitor the situation closely.
The remote Mentawai islands are popular with surfers searching for big waves and pristine beaches.
© 2010 AFP
Australian survivor recalls tsunami
October 26, 2010 - 10:49PM
Ads by Google
StarHub Expat Pack Promo
www.StarHub.com/Expat
Fully Integrated Infocom Packages For Expats. Stay Connected w/Home!
AFP
As soon as he felt the quake underneath his boat, Rick Hallet's thoughts turned to the possibility of a tsunami sweeping into the bay where his vessel was anchored off the Mentawai islands.
Scanning the sea Hallet -- and the 15 others aboard his boat -- he saw a wall of water headed his way.
Recounting the moments after the powerful 7.7 magnitude quake struck the region, which is west of Indonesia's Sumatra island, Hallet, an Australian who runs a boat-chartering business in Sumatra, said: "We heard an almighty roar."
Advertisement: Story continues below
"I immediately thought of a tsunami and looked out to sea and that's when we saw the wall of white water coming at us.
"The bay we were in was several hundred metres across and the wall of white water was from one side to the other, it was quite scary," he told Fairfax Radio Network.
A boat anchored next to them was first to feel the force of the surge.
"The wave picked that boat up and brought it towards us and ran straight into us and our boat exploded, caught on fire; we had a fireball on the back deck and right through the saloon within seconds," he said.
Thinking fast, the group -- including nine Australians -- jumped into the water as their boat exploded. Some were swept 200 metres inland, climbing trees to get beyond the reach of the surge and waiting for more than 20 minutes for the waves to pass.
All from Hallet's boat were accounted for.
They were among the lucky ones. The tsunami left at least 23 dead and scores missing across remote island villages, according to local officials.
Nine Australians and a Japanese man who were believed to be aboard another boat in the area were missing on Tuesday.
The missing group of surfers were on a traditional wooden boat, the Southern Cross, skippered by an Australian Chris Scurrah and Japanese Akinori Fujita.
SurfAid, a charity set up a decade ago to help villagers in the Mentawai region, said the boat was believed to be close to the quake's epicentre.
Dave Jenkins, SurfAid's founder, said Scurrah had "been around here for a long time. He knew to contact in if he could. So that's why we're extra concerned."
A search and rescue mission for the Southern Cross had been launched, Jenkins said.
"We do have increasingly worrying reports of quite high numbers of people who are missing in villages," he said, adding that he hopes to have accurate information on the missing boat by Wednesday.
Australia waited anxiously for news of its missing nationals. Foreign Minister Kevin Rudd said his government would continue to monitor the situation closely.
The remote Mentawai islands are popular with surfers searching for big waves and pristine beaches.
© 2010 AFP
Wash them down to the oceans.
