Jaffer Jablu

I remember people living in Dhabu creek were died and at Painchiayani Creek were saved because the place was naturally high. The waves were so high even passed over the trees and small mounts. It happened at fajr or sehri time (before dawn). Many men and women died. I was sleeping in my home. Three waves hit the area one after the other i.e. water came forward and receded three times. We were hit by less high wave and could escape to nearby sand dunes. But the place where my cousins and other families were living was severely hit by high waves and many people died in the event because there were no natural protections like sand dunes or high ground. Mangroves were rooted out from the grounds by the waves but at the same time, mangrove saved the communities living behind those forests. Direction of waves was also different from the normal waves. Open sea intruded in the creeks like Dhabu and Punchiyani which caused reverse direction of flow of water i.e. water entered in the creeks from the sea and hit the people from upstream (opposite) side. In the morning we came to know about the damage caused by the strong waves. Dead bodies were lying over the ground even hung over the trees. I buried few bodies which were hanging over the trees brought by high waves. My cousin Ahmed and his wife died by this tsunami. We brought ration for affected people and arranged few coffin for the dead