I’m not feeling well today. I’m recovering from a mild case of food poisoning. Maybe that’s why this topic seems appropriate for a blog post….
There hadn't been a tsunami in Sri Lanka since pretty much forever. There is some local folklore about a big magic wave carrying a boat inland. But nothing in recent history.
So when the ocean receded on December 26, 2004, most (no one?) knew what would happen next. Toby’s cousin was there that day. In his hometown, Moratuwa. He told us this story while we stood on the beach where one of the waves hit....
The cousin told us that friends and neighbours called out,” come see the ocean, something weird is happening!”. He went, with his young son in his arms. Some locals were claiming the newly exposed ocean floor as their new land. It took about 2 hours, from when the water receded to when the first wave came. When the cousin saw it in the distance, he ran home. He was very lucky. The water reached his street but not his house.
The cousin said that Hawaii sent a warning to Sri Lanka about the coming tsunami. But the message was misunderstood. The Sri Lankan government sent a welcome party to the airport to welcome “Mr Tsunami”. Is this true? I don’t know. Google isn’t saying much about this topic.
There is now a tsunami warning system in Sri Lanka.
Pictures
1- 2 The tsunami went over this piece of land beside the train track. It's a little hard to fully compute that. But this building shell made it easier to picture. Locals have left the shells of destroyed houses as monuments of sorts...3- Toby and his cousins son buying train tickets for us.
4- The train station in Moratuwa. The trains are used a lot here. For commuting into Colombo and for longer distance travel
5-Inside the train. I loved the open windows!
6- This man was on the train selling pineapple
7- My hair got a little messed up from hanging out the window like a puppy dog!
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