A Boxing Day tsunami survivor from Worcestershire has recalled the ‘horrifying – but most enlightening time’ of her life two decades on. Michelle Mills-Porter was caught up in the devastation in the Sri Lankan coastal town of Hikkaduwa in December 2004.
Ms Mills-Porter, from Cofton Hackett, only put up one Christmas decoration this year as show of respect to those who lost their lives in one of the worst natural disasters this century. Over 225,000 people died in 14 countries, which included 35,000 in Sri Lanka.
She told the BBC she had initially been unsure if it was a “local phenomenon or “whether an atomic bomb had gone off.” Ms Mills-Porter, who had been on a diving holiday with her partner, said: “The whole world had turned upside-down.
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“Boats were crashing into the hotel, the water was taking the buildings down as if they were made of sand. The water was 30ft high, taking the roof of the dive centre off with it, and there was nothing but water to be seen everywhere.”
She added: “There were thousands of people in the village of Hikkaduwa that lost their lives. And every year you feel that you need to be respectful and grateful for making it through. We have one solitary Christmas decoration this year – one star in my front bedroom, and that’s it. It’s a mark of respect and remembrance.”
She had been a marketing executive at the time of the tragedy, but the horrific experience changed her career path. She now works as a behaviour expert.
“It was the most horrifying time of my life, but it was the most enlightening as well. Because what you learn about humanity in adversity is incredible,” she said. “When you see somebody… reach out and grab a child that is being swept away, and hand that child back to its mother, it’s just incredible.”
She returned to Hikkaduwa and married partner Stuart on the beach a year later. She, along with other members of their diving club in Bromsgrove, have raised £100,000 in aid for the village.