Thailand Tsunami Warning

The sirens are sounding, and text messages are coming in one after another reading:

“Tsunami Warning Get To Higher Ground NOW!”

The earthquake I felt twenty minutes ago seems like nothing compared to the threat of a massive wall of water moving this way.

I scan my bungalow. What do I need to take? This is an evacuation.

I’m surprised by my ability to quickly discern what is important, and put it into a bag.

The sky is black. It looks like the end of the world. When I realize that 7-11 is closed, it feels like it just might be. I run across the street to a local Thai market that is still open. The look of the people’s faces zooming by me is one of sheer panic. These people have all lost loved ones in a tsunami before. Everyone is heading to higher ground or back towards the ocean to retrieve their family.

I buy my phone card, which seems to be what everyone is doing, and everywhere you look people are on their phones desperately trying to get through. The siren goes off intermittently. I go up higher along the main road where I’m hoping my friends are congregating. I relax just seeing familiar faces; at least I don’t have to die alone.

The atmosphere is anxious. We all are there, except the rest of our friends, which are out at sea. Working as a diver, there’s always the inevitable risk of being out during a tsunami.

I get a text from a friend on a boat, “We are all waiting with our lifejackets on.”

There is nothing to do but wait.

CNN keeps changing its mind when it will hit. First it was 5, then 5:40, then 6:48. The boats are still out; it is storming, and now completely dark outside. Finally, it is 6:48. I show my watch to my friends.

The room goes silent to hear the CNN announcement. While areas just near us were hit, our region was now deemed safe. By the time the tsunami got to us, it was only 10 centimeters. We breathe a sigh of relief. Our friends are safe, thank God.

The rain is coming down hard, but Mother Nature has spared us. This time.