On the morning of 26 December 2004, a 9.2 earthquake off the west coast of Aceh in northern Sumatra, Indonesia, unleashed a tsunami with waves up to 30 metres (100 feet) high, killing a quarter of a million people across fourteen countries.
The Boxing Day Tsunami created a massive physical, economic, emotional and psychological impact on those countries, and on the families and communities of those lost. I remember where I was when I heard the news, and the shock of watching reports and footage emerging - from Australia, this felt very close to home.
The Boxing Day Tsunami is the opening scene in Mission Assurance Gaia Experiment. I recognise that while it is a plot device in my book, the impacts on survivors and their lives, to this day, is real and significant. I read and listened to many survivor testimonies about what this experience looked, felt, sounded like, to inform the opening scenes.
On 26 December 2024, it will be the 20th Anniversary of this devastating event - a time to remember all who were lost, those left behind, and the courage and humanitarian spirit shown by so many in the face of one of the worst natural disasters in recorded history.
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