In 2009, an earthquake and tsunami caught the Samoan Islands in
the Pacific off guard. Almost 200 people were killed and over 40
aftershocks with a magnitude of 5.5 or higher were recorded.
Fortunately, most people survived the tsunami and each of them had their
own story to tell. There was even one who surfed his way to survival
and lived to tell the tale. His name is Chris Nel and this is his story.
What Happened in the Samoan Tsunami?
The 2009 Samoan tsunami happened on September 29, 2009 and
affected American Samoa, Samoa, and Tonga. It started with an earthquake
that registered a magnitude of 8.1 on the Richter scale. Because of the
earthquake, a tsunami was generated and waves measured as high as 45
feet on the Samoan coast. The Samoan Islands are part of the Pacific
Ring of Fire, making it very susceptible to earthquakes and volcanic
eruptions. More than 189 people were killed in the tsunami.
Who is Chris Nel?
One of the survivors of the tsunami was Chris Nel, a surfer from
Wellington, New Zealand. Nel is a Hospitality student who was on a
surfing holiday on the south coast of the Savai'i island. He had been
surfing with four other surfers from New Zealand and one from Australia
when the tsunami appeared. According to his tsunami story, he went out
with his friends early in the morning to surf. They then felt a tremor
while surfing, but they did not pay heed to that because they always
felt tremors in New Zealand. They continued surfing, but noticed changes
in the water. He said, "All of a sudden the water went really weird, it
kind of glassed off and got really lumpy, then we started moving really
quick, getting sucked out to sea." He said that he saw the reef
completely drying up, like a volcanic riverbed, before seeing the
tsunami hitting the shore.
How did Chris Nel Survive the Tsunami?
When Nel and his friends saw giant waves hitting the shore, they
did not fully realize that it was a tsunami that they were seeing. They
even wondered why no one was helping them, before realizing that
everyone else had already evacuated and moved to higher grounds. What
Nel and his friends did was lay on their surfboards as the wave after
wave came. They tried in vain to reach the shore by riding the waves
that came to them and tried not to get smashed. They went like that for
about 45 minutes before they managed to get to land through the reef
channel. They survived the ordeal, although the place where they were
staying did not. Most of Nel's stuff got washed out at sea and he even
found one of his surfboards in the jungle.
What Happened to the Tsunami's Aftermath?
The international community extended help to the victims of the
Samoan earthquake and tsunami. New Zealand sent medical supplies and
relief goods and also dispatched surveillance aircraft to assess the
damage and search for bodies. The United States, Canada, and Australia
also sent help where it was needed. As much as 40 aftershocks came after
48 hours of the earthquake. Most of them had a magnitude of 5.0 and
higher, while two aftershocks registered with a magnitude of 6.0 and
higher. As for Nel, he flew back to Wellington using jeans he had found
in the jungle.
Aside from the Samoan tsunami, there have been many earthquakes
and tsunamis recorded throughout the history of the Earth that had even
more casualties than this one. In every incident, there are also
survivors who were able to tell their stories that continue to inspire
us. The tsunami story of Chris Nel and his friends was a story of
survival in the face of the deep blue sea. They were lucky enough to
have survived the ordeal.
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