Villagers recall seeing monstrous waves heading towards their homes on Dec 26, 2004
SUNGAI PETANI: FOR 26 years, the sea was Mohamad Hasli's friend. It was his playing ground since young and when he got old enough, he lived off it. As is true for any fisherman, he had his fair share of harrowing episodes, but he trusted the sea.
On Dec 26 eight years ago, that changed. The tsunami that hit his village, Kampung Kepala Jalan, left him so traumatised that he stayed away from the sea for six months after the horrific incident.
Now 34, Mohamad recalled how tidal waves pounded on his wooden house, destroying it.
"Everything happened so fast. Fortunately, my mother, along with the rest of my family members, managed to escape. I suffered frequent nightmares from then on. I did not have the courage to go back into the water. For six months I did odd jobs, including carpentry."
Another villager, 45-year-old Md Hafidzi Ismail said he remembered the screaming when villagers, most of them who were at a wedding feast on that day, saw a monstrous wave heading towards them.
"There were about 200 of us. We just panicked." Hafidzi said he was with his wife, Rosilah Saad, 41, and their four children when the first wave struck their village.
