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New Zealand surfer escapes tsunami

by Jeremy Kressmann (RSS feed) on Oct 7th 2009 at 9:00AM

Surfers are constantly on the hunt for the "big one" - that epic wave they'll be able to tell their grand kids about. But for New Zealand surfer Chris Nel, that epic wave turned into a nightmare. Nel was out surfing with five friends in the Samoan Islands last week when a catastrophic 8.3 magnitude earthquake struck, sending a towering tsunami of water rumbling his way.

Before they even realized it, the ocean around them was rushing back out to sea, sucking Chris and his friends along with it. Chris describes the scary feeling of doom as he was pulled towards the giant mass of water, powerless to do anything but ride out the waves. For the next 45 minutes, Nel and his friends struggled to stay afloat in the pounding tsunami surge, worried they would be smashed into the beach or jungle. Finally, the friends caught a lucky break, scrambling to safety back on land in between surges. However, the surf camp where he was staying was completely destroyed. Chris returned to New Zealand wearing nothing but a pair of jeans found in the jungle.

For all the tragedy that came from last week's earthquakes and tsunamis, it's heartening to hear of some good news. Despite the increasing availability of tsunami warning systems in the Pacific Ocean, it's not likely Nel or his friends would have even had time to get out of the water, even if they learned of the wave in advance. Like any outdoor sport, surfing is not without its occasional risk - sometimes you just happen to get lucky.

Filed under: Surfing, Stories, Oceania, New Zealand, Samoa

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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

Ashanya Oct 7th 2009 4:29PM

This is one of those crazy, epic, miraculous stories that emerge in the wake of something devastating like a tsunami. it would be interesting to read more about how exactly he surfed a tsunami??

http://www.newsy.com/videos/the_pacific_ring_of_fire

nzm Oct 8th 2009 10:27AM

A tsunami isn't necessarily a big, gigantic wave which is everyone's perception of what it should look like.

The Samoa tsunami was like a big tidal movement - the water gets sucked out and then returns in a big surge which floods everything and, as there is now more water coming in (as a result of the "ripple effect" from the earthquake epicenter) than went out, it spills onto the land with devastating effect.

More info on Chris' ordeal can be read by clicking on the link found in the words "even realized it" in Jeremy's above post.

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