The day of the tsunami in 2004, 230,000 people were killed or missing.

All the water around the island leaves.

All the animals went silent.

I hear my mom's yelling, run!

I saw this wave destroying people.

They didn't run fast enough, and they had no other option but to turn and face the wave.

Hundreds of bags lined up. Maybe one or two people came to collect their backs and the rest were just evidence of people who will never collect their bags. On December 26, 2004, exactly 20 years ago, a 9.1 magnitude undersea earthquake struck off the coast of Sumatra, causing a tsunami.

It would hit Indonesia, Sri Lanka, India, and Thailand the worst. 14 countries total. The energy released

would be equivalent to 23,000 Hiroshima atomic bombs. It was the deadliest tsunami in recorded

history, reaching as far as three miles inland and killing or missing 230,000 people, including tourists.

33 were Americans.

There were thousands of people enjoying vacation on the beach or at expensive resorts.

The tsunami caused nearly $6 billion in damage to Indonesia and displaced millions of people.

They had no warning.

The only creatures who sent something was coming were the elephants and dogs who sought higher ground just before.

The 2012, The Impossible, starring Naomi Watts, is based on the true story of one of the families

who survived this natural disaster.

Another vacationing family on the beach that day in Thailand

was 10-year-old Riley Kiho's. She survived, and she is here to share her story. This show is

made for video, although you can listen anywhere you get your podcast. You can watch each episode on

Spotify or YouTube. We're able to do that with generous tax deductible donations from supporters

like you through the link in the bio. We're on a mission to heal us at culture, physically,

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