Banda Aceh, on the northern tip of Sumatra, was nearest to the powerful quake’s epicentre and the first waves arrived within half an hour. A roiling mountain of water deluged the coastal city of about 239,000, crushing buildings, vehicles and trees, the rushing rapids sweeping away everything in its path. Here, more than 60,000 men, women and children died that day, or one out of every four residents.
