The earth moved and caused a tidal wave

I didn’t know about the earthquake that hit Malaysian west coast shores until I saw the 1.30pm news. Only then did it hit me that the tremor which woke me from my sleep a few hours before that was in fact an earthquake.

That Sunday morning, I was sound asleep as I had slept really late the night before.

You know how you get a muscle cramp in your sleep and your leg gives a little shake? That’s what I thought I had and that’s what I thought had woken me up.

But that muscle pull felt a little different. Not only was my leg shaking, my entire body too and in fact, the whole bed was shaking.

I thought I was imagining things and just rolled over and went back to sleep.

Fast-forward about 4 hours, I found out on TV that Shah Alam, KL, Rawang, Penang and Kedah were hit by an earthquake. And there were hundreds of casualties involving those who were picnicking with family and relatives by the beach. Masya-allah!

I actually know some people living and vacationing in Penang and Langkawi. I mean, it’s the school holidays and it’s Christmas break all in one. So naturally, many people took the opportunity to vacation at these popular tourist spots.

I’ve read an account of what happened in Feringgi on apapaje.blogspot.com. It’s not her personal account but one of someone that she knows. My friend F forwarded me pictures of Gurney, post-tsunami. The shoreline is about 300 metres from where it used to be and water floods the street.

I’m glad I wasn’t in Penang at the time. I don’t think I would have wanted to be there….