TODAY marks the 20th anniversary of the great tsunami which washed away the lives of some 220,000 people in 15 countries including Penang and Langkawi where 64 lives were lost while another 8,000 were displaced.
It was reported that on that fateful Boxing Day of 2004, 67 people nationwide were killed in the natural phenomenon — 52 in Penang, Kedah (12), Perak (two) and Selangor (one) — while some 300 people, including tourists, were injured.
Six people remain unaccounted for some 20 - years later.
In Penang, some groups gathered at the localities where there was a tsunami to mark the sombre occasion when waters rampaged through the northeast coastline along Tanjong Tokong, Tanjung Bungah, and Batu Ferringhi.
Penang and Langkawi were believed to be largely spared due to two factors - the Penang Channel which divided the mainland Prai and the island of George Town whereas in Langkawi, the sprawling wave breaker near Padang Matsirat.
Both the channel and wave breaker combined to smooth the raging waves generated by an underground earthquake off Aceh, Indonesia.
A veteran journalist based in Langkawi, Hamzah Osman, a retired teacher, penned his thoughts, saying it is a memory he cannot erase.
As one of the few active stringers operating on the island resort, he encountered difficulty in trying to piece together what happened but fought on to report the facts, especially in warning beach goers that the sea wasn't calm that day.
He recalled how the Langkawi Development Authority complex in Kuah shook while inhouse guests from the Bayview Langkawi and Langkasuka Hotels ran out in panic as the properties suffered tremors.
The elevators on those high-rise buildings also stopped operating on that day.
The lobby at the five-star Pelangi Beach Resort was also flooded with blackish water and the island fortunately only recorded one death - of a fisherman in Kuala Teriang.
Picture from Hindustan times
It was reported that memorial ceremonies are expected across 15 nations to remember the 220,000 people who died two decades ago when the tsunami devastated coastal areas around the Indian Ocean, in one of the worst natural disasters in history.
On Dec 26 2004, a 9.1-magnitude earthquake off Indonesia’s western tip, around 8 am generated a series of massive waves that pummelled the coastline of 15 countries.
Veteran lawyer S. Raveentharan hopes that lessons can be learnt in terms of installing early warning sirens and improving first responder times to emergencies.
He also hopes that the public would take heed and learn basic life-saving skills such as CPR and using the Automated External Defibrillator (AED), a portable medical device placed in public areas that can help save lives during sudden cardiac arrest.
Businessman Mohd Nordin Ismail said that the tsunami serves as a reminder that mother nature needs to be respected and humanity needs to co-exist with it.
It serves also as a springboard towards addressing climate change and how people should find ways to reduce pollution, he added. - December 26, 2024.
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