Marthunis, 17, from Alue Naga village, Banda Aceh
That morning I was playing soccer with my friends. We ran home after the strong earthquake and after that I heard a really loud noise, like an aeroplane. When I looked at the sea I saw something I had never seen before and I was terrified. My family rushed into our minivan but the road was full with everyone trying to escape. The black wave hit our minivan, turning us over several times before I blacked out. When I regained consciousness I was in the water. Holding on to a school chair, I floated until I landed on a beach. I had no idea where I was and I was so hungry and thirsty. There were bodies and debris everywhere. Under a mangrove tree I saw a mattress had washed up and I started searching for packets of noodles and bottles of water, collecting them around my mattress. After five days I didn’t have any water or food left. I survived there by myself until day 20. That’s when I saw people coming to collect the bodies. They rescued me and took me to Fakinah hospital where I found my father. He told me my mother and sister had died in the tsunami.
Nazaruddin Musa, 42, from Darussalam, Banda Aceh
I was at a great fishing spot in Krueng Cut village when I felt the earthquake. I wasn’t worried but I thought I should check on my family. I arrived home about 15 minutes later and my wife and son were fine so I was thinking about driving around town to look at the damage from the earthquake. At that time I could never have imagined the tsunami. But minutes later I saw the water coming towards us, it was washing up houses and gathering speed. I grabbed my son and my wife and we ran. There was a huge wall behind our house and we only just managed to scale it in time. It was a life or death moment because the water was right behind us. We ran to a two-storey building, and the next moment I saw the first wave take hundreds of people. I ran down and picked up a small girl lying on the ground and took her up to the second floor. Then the second wave hit. After the first wave I could see the dead and injured but the second wave was devastating, it just swept everything away.
Mahyuddin, 38, from Blang Bintang, Aceh Besar
On Saturday I went fishing around Pulau Weh, an island off Aceh, and we spent the night there. We were on the way back to the mainland on Sunday morning when our boats started rocking. After that we could see a huge wave in the distance. It was extraordinary, about 20 meters high. Another boat crew heading to land started yelling at us, telling us to return to the middle of the ocean. Three waves passed and at noon we got a radio call asking for us to help rescue the victims. On the way back we saw bodies floating in the water. It was unbelievable. We picked up many survivors. When we got to land we saw that it was flat, debris was everywhere and there was a clear view of the mountain. We helped rescue people all day and before it got dark I returned to my home in Kampoeng Jawa village. Sadly, my house had been swept away. I had lost my wife and my son and I didn’t know what to do. I went to the great mosque and slept there on the terrace and the tremors continued into the night.
Nazariah, 44, from Lampulo, Banda Aceh
My baby was six months old and my first instinct was to grab him. I heard people screaming outside, that water was coming and I saw many people running. Then I heard something smack against the house and I knew I was not going to be safe on the second floor. My husband and my other children were out so I ran with my baby and my mother. The first wave hit us but we managed to hold on to each other. I was so scared that I would lose them so I held on as tight as I could. The water carried us to a police station near my house and a policeman there pulled us out of the water. Then the second very strong wave came. We ran up to the second floor but the water was filling up the whole room. I thought we might get trapped and drown in there. But the policeman started bashing at the ceiling and he made a hole so we could climb into the roof. It was an amazing moment. I was thanking God when the water started to go down.
Fauziah, 44, from Lampulo, Banda Aceh
I knew I had to escape but my husband had taken the motorbike when he went shopping and I was at home with our five children. I had no idea what to do. I was just thinking that I had to get to the second floor of a house nearby. What I remember was that the wave was really black. At first we weren’t sure if it was oil or water. When it came up to us on the second floor it felt like judgment day. I thought my children and I were all going to die. Panicking, my son made a hole in the roof and climbed up. One by one he pulled us up, I was amazed by him. After that that we realised a boat had landed on top of the house. From the roof I could also see many people floating in the water. We climbed up into the boat and then I started praying. I was worried about my parents and my husband. They all died that day. The tsunami was 10 years ago but I feel like it just happened. I keep remembering even though I know my life should go on.
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