Previous Entries 2004

Sunday, December 26, 2004
Once in a Lifetime Thing!!

This morn when I woke up, & since I was blur having juz woken up, I thought stg was wrong with me. Before I knew it, my mom rushed outta her room & asked if we felt a tremor. Then it hit me! It was actually a tremor. Earthquake in Indonesia with an 8.9 richter scale(watchin CNN). The tremor went on for awhile & then it stopped.

I heard from my grandmother the story when she was at church this morn too. The tremor was so bad there that everyone felt dizzy! Mass paused for awhile & ppl even rushed out of the church for fear that the building might collapse. We were on the way to PSC for lunch when I heard this story from my grandmother. I thought, so that was it. Little did I know what was gonna happen later.

We were having lunch at the snake temple, a place situated near the sea. I was so into my food that I didn’t notice anything at all till my bro commented about the white caps in the distance. I glanced up & strained my eyes (short sighted) to see if they were actually white caps or juz boats in the distance.

My dad comfirmed that they were white caps. A stretch of em, very far away but drawing nearer & increasing in number! Waves started to form…& I mean big ones. I didn’t really pay attention to it as it was quite far away & resumed my meal. My dad then asked us to shift over to another table as we were sittin at one the nearest to the sea. Without lookin up from my food , I commented saying he was exaggerating again, like always. But then, when I looked up after that…I was shocked to see a wave coming our way…

All of us moved away as the huge wave splashed over the rocks below, sending a huge spray of water up, wetting the table we were sittin on earlier! Everyone there was lookin out over the railing, gawking at wat they were seeing. The waves became bigger & more waves rushed in, & soon, the calm sea looked like an angry ocean. Water swept all around us as everybody fled outta that place.It was something I have never seen. The water rushed up, totally covering the beach, making it look like all of us were in the middle of some club which was situated in the middle of the sea!!!

The fence which separated the club from the public beach was washed down, flat on the ground (at that time it couldn’t even be seen as the water rushed in & swallowed everything) & the grill broke. Yes. Strong grills….The playground nearby was wrecked & water rushed up till the stairs leading to the level where we were at..I couldn’t see land at all…! It was a waste I didn’t have a video or camera with me..& this is stg which rarely happens & it was happening in front of my eyes! After a while tho, it subsided & the sea went back to normal. Calm & peaceful in a sunny & cloudless Sunday afternoon.....like ntg even happened in the first place! It went as sudden as it came.

We went down to check out the gym which was situated near the playground area but was indoors, of cos. Walked down the stairs……..& I saw water. Water all over. It covered till up to the final flight of stairs leading to the gym. As in the whole gym was flooded!! The water might have seeped in or broken the gym glass from the outside earlier…or else I don’t think it would have gotten THIS bad. Man….it really reminded me of “ Day after Tomorrow”…..

As I was making my way up, I heard a thundering sound. I rushed out juz in time to see another very huge wave…The force of the wave smashed the wooden fence & sent several beach chairs flying into the swimming pool!!! This 2nd one was so much worse than the first one! Nobody expected that to happen!! When the sea was so calm already….! It came as a huge shock….The club’s siren came on all of a sudden & blared in my ears. It was so frightening!! When this wave finally subsided, the whole pool was a mess. It was so murky & chairs were floating in it, some even broken!! Tree trunks which the waves brought in were also in the pool. It was such an ugly sight.

When we made sure the sea was totally calm already, my dad, bro & I made our way to the carpark thru inside the club, instead of walkin to the carpark thru the roadside while my mom & grandmother went up to the reception which was on higher ground. We wanted to check out stuff & man….It was only then that I realized how much damage the whole wave made.

The whole walkway leading to the carpark, (which was actually not that close from the beach but situated juz near it overlooking the sea) was totally wet. The floors were all wet & the tiles on the roof even broke!!!!!! We went on to the sailing section….& man…It was totally….The store which was used to keep water sports equipment was all wrecked!! & boats seemed to be scattered everywhere!! Canoes were broken into half. yes..It was stg I have never seen in my entire life & there it was. Right before my eyes….Like some hurricane juz landed or stg….& the whole place was covered with sand!! Like it was another beach!

It was in a terrible state, the whole place. Those chairs & tables also broke. Those made out of stone. STONE. Could you imagine that??! Ok well, not exactly stone, im not sure wat its made of…but y’know those chairs & tables by the beach kinda thing…with the umbrellas over it kind…yeh. THOSE were all broken leaving juz the remains of it…It was terrible!! Never in my wildest dreams have I thought I would witness this kinda stuff…It was like stg you usually watch on TV! But here it was all right in front of me. It was exciting but scary….I heard so many ambulances rushing up to the batu feringghi area…I guess many ppl got hurt up there…where all the beach hotels are…..

Anyways, my dad went to get the car & my bro & I stood watchin at the carpark, a good view of the sea..Suddenly we saw yet another one. White caps coming with huge waves – again. This time in a diff direction. It headed to those houses by the beach….tg bungah area…What happened there…….i seriously don’t know……But lookin at how the waves totally covered up the beach from a far distance…it wasn’t good news..

When we were having lunch earlier, when it all juz started to happen, there were 3 boats out in sea. Those fisherman boats…When the waves came, I saw one of the boats sailing away from it..But then it stopped behind an island(the island was nearby)..a distance away from when the white caps came. I guess that fella stopped to watch it all….& like all of us, never thought the waves would come in so fast…..When he saw the waves getting bigger, I could see him – or whoever that was in the boat – trying to sail away as fast as he can…The next thing I knew tho……..Well, I saw with my very own eyes…the boat capsized. It got swept under the sea & totally disappeared. In a blink of an eye. I never ever saw that boat again. It didn’t bop up at all. Juz went under. Totally. Forever. Juz like that…I felt so shaken up & shocked juz watchin this. It was like an action movie playing before me. I felt the terror of that fisherman…Imagine yourself being thrown into the sea & swept away never being able to come up for air or to see the world again……

This whole incident reminded me of how short life is…Lil kids might be playing in the sand under a beautiful Sunday afternoon..& suddenly the waves come & juz sweep em away…….…How sad could it be..? I heard many kids died up at batu ferringhi. I heard more stories after tho…when my friend smsed me & told me they were at gurney..tryin to see if another wave would come. & indeed it did…..

My mom also called the club a few mins after we got home. It seemed the situation got worse than when we left..Everyone was asked to vacate the club!! Whew….When I was in the midst of it all, sure I was excited, but I was scared too. Scared for the ppl who were in those places where it was all happening..Indo, Phuket, Sri Lanka & I don’t know how many other places..If a small wave like that could cause havoc already…how about those ppl there? Man…I felt their fear……Well, it wasn’t a small wave..But compared to those places, it IS small…It was totally like a tidal wave. It was one actually….Juz the not-so-big ones…..well, big enough to wreck half the club!!!!

Today was stg I never dreamt about. It came all of a sudden, under a cloudless blue sky & peaceful, calm sea…It was like a perfect Sunday kinda thing..No wind at all. It wasnt cloudy..NOTHING. Who ever thought such a thing would happen?! If you were at home not knowing nethin, you’d be thinking the world was such a safe place to live in……..Appreciate what you have. Your life, your friends, your family. All your loved ones…Cos life is definitely short….