On Monday, residents of Aceh province -- where many are deeply conservative Muslims -- were reeling. In Banda Aceh, a city of 400,000, dazed relatives scoured rows of corpses laid out in the afternoon sun for dead loved ones. Mothers -- some holding their dead children -- cried for help.
In the village of Pidie, witnesses said the tsunami tossed boats about like toys and destroyed hundreds of wooden houses.
Abdul Dahlan, a 27-year-old fisherman, said he was waiting on the beach for his brother to return from sea when he noticed a strange silence. The water then rapidly receded and then a 4.5m wave came barreling toward them.
"We yelled out: The sea is drying out! It's drying out," he said.
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