Surviving Nature's Fury: Personal Accounts of Disasters

Hurricane Katrina: A Family's Ordeal in New Orleans

On August 29, 2005, my parents, my sister, and I were sitting in our house in New Orleans, listening to the wind outside. Hurricane Katrina was here! We were all terrified, even our dog, Belle. Eventually, the wind stopped, and we knew the storm was over, so we went to bed.

At first, all was quiet. Then, my mother heard Belle drinking, but she wasn't drinking from her dish—she was drinking from the floor. Floodwater was filling our house! As soon as we realized what was happening, we ran up to the roof. We waited there for two days, with nothing to eat. We were hungry and scared.

Finally, a helicopter came and took us to a safe place. Now we live with my aunt in Houston, Texas. I'm sad that we've lost our home, but I'm glad that we're all alive and safe—thanks to Belle!

Indian Ocean Tsunami: Eyewitness Accounts

Pete and Cathy's Escape from Phuket

On December 26, 2004, at 7:58 AM local time, there was a big earthquake in the Indian Ocean, near Indonesia. The tsunami that followed killed more than 150,000 people and left 5 million homeless.

Pete and Cathy from England were spending their Christmas holidays in Phuket with their Dad. Pete is talking about that horrible day.

“When the tsunami hit, we were sleeping. My sister and I woke up because we heard police sirens and helicopters. We left Dad asleep and went down to find out what was going on. Outside, people were standing in shock. Suddenly a man yelled, ‘Another wave... There's another one coming!' We ran as quickly as possible to our room. While Dad was talking on the phone with Mum, the phone went dead. We left the hotel immediately. On our way to the airport, we saw the beach. It was full of broken beach umbrellas and boats. Tourists were looking for their families. It was awful! We were alive because we hadn't gone to the beach earlier that morning! Many other people weren't that lucky. We just wanted to go home, but the airport was shut! We'll never forget what we saw over those days.”

Pat Ralston's Survival in Thailand

In December 2004, Pat Ralston was staying at a luxury hotel in Thailand. While Pat was sitting on a balcony reading, people were playing volleyball on the beach below. The sun was shining, and it was a beautiful day.

Then, suddenly, people were running in every direction, as water from a tsunami flooded the beach and the hotel. Pat was lucky—he survived, but the immense wave destroyed buildings, villages, and thousands of lives in Southeast Asia.

Rogue Waves: The Peril of the Open Sea

But boats on the sea are not always safe. On April 16, 2005, the Norwegian Dawn, a cruise ship, was traveling near the Bahamas. After two days of violent storms, a twenty-one-meter wave hit the ship. The next moment there was panic. The wave broke windows, and water flooded into sixty-four cabins. It destroyed furniture and injured passengers.

Every year, ships disappear in storms under monster or “rogue” waves. They are quite common, but we cannot predict them. So next time you're planning a cruise or a beach holiday, think again.