Indian Ocean tsunami: how survivors found love after Boxing Day disaster
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A rise in the number of remarriages and a baby boom in the years since 2004 gave hope to survivors and helped them cope with the tragedy. It was Mahyuddin’s mother who had pestered him to go out on Sunday morning, 20 years ago. Dozens of relatives were visiting their small coastal village in Indonesia for a wedding party, but a powerful earthquake had struck just before 8am. Buildings in some areas had collapsed. He should go and check on his employer’s office to see if they needed help, his mother said.
![[A scene of destruction with mounds of debris.]](https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/287a312ff85219290f4f34a8a060344b17bbef3c/0_0_2000_1176/master/2000.jpg?width=465&dpr=1&s=none&crop=none)
As he drove into town, he found chaos and panic. The road was heavy with traffic: cars, motorbikes, trucks, all rushing in the same direction. People were running, shouting that water was coming. “I had to do something to save myself,” he says. “I decided to leave my motorbike because there wasn’t enough space, and I ran.” He ended up at a junction.
![[Two people walk down a road strewn with debris.]](https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/56cda7398500d98c51f246a25b23f92440caaf5d/0_0_2600_1608/master/2600.jpg?width=445&dpr=1&s=none&crop=none)
First, a shallow sheet of water spread across the main road. It rose rapidly into a powerful flood, dark in colour and carrying a stream of debris: home furnishings, strips of wood, anything the wave had swallowed in its path. People clambered on to a structure at the centre of the intersection, climbed trees and street posts to survive. Bodies were visible in the flowing water.
![[Aerial view of a housing complex ]](https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/3804d36becc03442da7341087176108421b73f9d/0_0_4032_2268/master/4032.jpg?width=445&dpr=1&s=none&crop=none)
Mahyuddin managed to cling to safety. His village, close to the beach and hit by an even greater force, was completely destroyed. He returned the next day to search for his relatives. It was there that he met Ema Listyana. Her family gave him food, and they searched through dead bodies together.
