Royal Navy sailor recounts carnage caused by killer Boxing Day tsunami

SAILORS scrambled to support Sri Lankan communities flattened by a killer tsunami have recalled the scenes of carnage left in the wake of the deadly wave.
By Tom Cotterill
Published 4th Jan 2021, 12:02 BST

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Royal Navy and Royal Fleet Auxillary personnel from HMS Chatham and RFA Diligence provide aid to locals in Batticoloa, one of the worst hit areas in the town by repairing and refloating some of the fishing vessels which have been swept some 2,000m along the shoreline. Photo: Royal NavyRoyal Navy and Royal Fleet Auxillary personnel from HMS Chatham and RFA Diligence provide aid to locals in Batticoloa, one of the worst hit areas in the town by repairing and refloating some of the fishing vessels which have been swept some 2,000m along the shoreline. Photo: Royal Navy
Royal Navy and Royal Fleet Auxillary personnel from HMS Chatham and RFA Diligence provide aid to locals in Batticoloa, one of the worst hit areas in the town by repairing and refloating some of the fishing vessels which have been swept some 2,000m along the shoreline. Photo: Royal Navy

The Boxing Day tsunami of 2004 was the deadliest natural disaster of the 21st century, killing 230,000 people across 13 countries in the Indo-Asia-Pacific region.

A 9.1 magnitude quake off the coast of Indonesia’s Aceh province triggered a wave as high as 54ft, wiping some communities off the map in seconds.

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And among the areas hardest hit was the island state of Sri Lanka, with almost 40,000 people killed during the disaster.

Royal Navy personnel from The Forward Support Unit, Portsmouth provide aid to locals in Batticoloa, one of the worst hit areas in the town.Royal Navy personnel from The Forward Support Unit, Portsmouth provide aid to locals in Batticoloa, one of the worst hit areas in the town.
Royal Navy personnel from The Forward Support Unit, Portsmouth provide aid to locals in Batticoloa, one of the worst hit areas in the town.

Teams from the Royal Navy and its support service the Royal Fleet Auxiliary were deployed as part of the UK relief effort to the region.

Among them included frigate HMS Chatham, which was dispatched from counter-terrorism work in the Gulf, and floating engineering workshop RFA Diligence, sailed from Kochi in India.

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Chatham was the first to arrive on January 3, using her two Lynx helicopters first to assess damage, then to ferry personnel and aid to some of the most inaccessible areas, with Diligence arriving a couple of days later.

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Royal Navy personnel from HMS Chatham assist the local inhabitants of Kallar Village by clearing debris and rubble from the local school and hospital and cleaning out a drinking water well which is contaminated with salt water. Chief Petty Officer Clerk and Petty Officer Slater clean out the well.Royal Navy personnel from HMS Chatham assist the local inhabitants of Kallar Village by clearing debris and rubble from the local school and hospital and cleaning out a drinking water well which is contaminated with salt water. Chief Petty Officer Clerk and Petty Officer Slater clean out the well.
Royal Navy personnel from HMS Chatham assist the local inhabitants of Kallar Village by clearing debris and rubble from the local school and hospital and cleaning out a drinking water well which is contaminated with salt water. Chief Petty Officer Clerk and Petty Officer Slater clean out the well.

‘The levels of devastation seen were amazing,’ said Lieutenant Commander Peter Sellers, Chatham’s weapon engineer officer. ‘Whole villages had been flattened and many fishing boats washed ashore – one even lodged on the first floor balcony of a former hotel.’

Teams restored essential services such as power and water, got boats back in the water so fishermen could provide for their families, constructed makeshift shelters, cleared roads, built bridges, and provided medical support and also comfort to people still traumatised by the disaster.

The two ships spent a little over a fortnight working off the east coast of the island, with the bulk of the relief efforts focused on the city of Batticaloa.

The relief effort was featured heavily in the BBC1 documentary series Shipmates.

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Royal Navy and Royal Fleet Auxillary personnel from HMS Chatham and RFA Diligence provide aid to locals in Batticoloa, one of the worst hit areas in the town by repairing and refloating some of the fishing vessels which have been swept some 2K along the shoreline.Royal Navy and Royal Fleet Auxillary personnel from HMS Chatham and RFA Diligence provide aid to locals in Batticoloa, one of the worst hit areas in the town by repairing and refloating some of the fishing vessels which have been swept some 2K along the shoreline.
Royal Navy and Royal Fleet Auxillary personnel from HMS Chatham and RFA Diligence provide aid to locals in Batticoloa, one of the worst hit areas in the town by repairing and refloating some of the fishing vessels which have been swept some 2K along the shoreline.

Survey ship HMS Scott was later deployed to the quake’s epicentre to map the underwater changes to the seabed.

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