CHAPTER 1 TSUNAMI Marine Marine biologist Dwayne Meadows was on vacation in Thailand It was December 26 2004 Meadows was getting ready to go diving Suddenly shouts rang out nearby Meadows looked outside Something was wrong The ocean was usually a few steps away from his small beach house The 2004 tsunami totally destroyed many buildings along the shores of Thailand
Indonesia was the country hit hardest by the 2004 tsunami Now the water was farther from shore Fish flopped on the wet sand A wall of murky water with a foamy white top loomed in the distance Meadows recognized what was happening It was a tsunami
He turned to jump out the back window so he could run to higher ground Suddenly the wave hit the house and ripped away the front wall Meadows was underwater It took him almost a minute to find his way to the surface At last his head rose above the water He gasped for breath When the water finally calmed he looked around He was a quarter mile 400 m from shore The houses along the beach were washed away Meadows's knee hurt and his hands were bleeding He swam toward shore When he reached land he saw another wave coming He ran for higher ground
