Chandrasiri's account.

Chandrasiri Abrew (Chande for short) is a fisherman who runs the Kosgoda Turtle Hatchery, a well-known conservation project that employs about 40 locals. Because he's familiar with everyone in the community, he knows who needs the funds we distribute. Here's his account of what happened on the morning of the 26th.

Chande opened the hatchery and gift shop at 6am (the gift shop and a restaurant help sustain the hatchery), and went about burying the turtle eggs that people had brought in. Not long after, busloads of tourists showed up; including the locals, there were about 80 people at the hatchery.

Then they noticed the water receding — all the small fish started leaping in the suddenly shallow water and birds swooped in to catch them. His employees wanted to cast their nets, but being a poya day (a Buddhist holy day), Chande refused to let them. Then 1.5km from the beach, he saw a wall of water advancing, and yelled at everyone to run. Then three waves crashed right on the hatchery in quick succession. The water was throwing people against the fences, and tourists with cameras were struggling in the current. He got everyone out and told them to leave while he locked up the buildings.

The water receded 1/2km before a fourth wave hit. It wasn't as high, but this time the water just kept rising, getting to 30 feet and rushing inland. No tourists died at the hatchery, but two local boys who were thrown into a tree by the first waves were washed away by the fourth wave.

Chande is an experienced deep sea diver, and he had the presence of mind to put on a life vest when the first waves hit the shore, so he was able to swim around to see who needed help. His 24-year-old nephew was trapped in his submerged house; Chande had to dive and kick in the door to get him out. Then his wife and one of his daughters drove up the main road (luckily their own house is not close to the shore, and the water only came up four feet). He told them not to get out since the water was up to the main road, and loaded their truck with people. His daughter begged him to come as well, but he told her that he could save some more people, and anyway he was a good enough swimmer to take care of himself.

The Kosgoda Beach Resort was mostly swept out to sea, but Chande found a half-conscious 18-year-old German girl drifting. He grabbed her from the water and gave her to someone to take to the hospital, but she died later. This seemed to be the story for many of the people he got out of the water; a boy who had fractured vertebrae after he climbed a tree died, and the bodies of his mother and two sisters were found later. An old girlfriend he retrieved was clinging so tight to him that she was dragging him down; once it was obvious she had taken in too much water, he had to let her go. At the police station, he found two officers stuck in a tree; he got the keys from them to release two prisoners in danger of drowning. And he even managed to save his own granddaughter, although because he was estranged from the girl's mother, he didn't know it until later.

Chande was swimming for an hour, the water rising the whole time. It moved 1.5km inland, past the main road, train tracks and whole neighborhoods. After the water receded a bit, he found most of the stuff from the restaurant scattered on the road. Large fishing boats were beached on the road, and vehicles with bodies in them were still stuck on rooftops and in trees a few days later. Now, there is a new channel the depth of a coconut tree near the hatchery, and there are three new rivers emptying into the ocean. Where the train tracks were is now only a huge trench — there's no trace of the tracks or concrete foundation.

Chande lost everything he had except for his house. He had been expecting a large party of tourists that night for dinner; he had three freezers just stocked with food that disappeared, and also had taken out a loan of 125,000 rupees (US$1250) to stock the gift shop, that had been in his trouser pocket and got lost while he was swimming. Most of his family lost their homes, and he had to place them with friends. Most of the locals who lost their homes are staying in a Buddhist temple; his children are, too, because they're afraid to stay in their home after the tsunami.