Tom Vater, author of <i>Beyond the Pancake Trench</i>  and Strange Attractor Journal contributor, was in Sumatra when the devastating quake of 26.12.04 struck. Luckily he was inland at the time. Here he reports from Lake Toba in Sumatra:

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Lake Toba, Sumatra. 29 12 04

300 miles south of the epicentre of the giant quake, an unreal quiet hangs over this almost deserted tourist resort.
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Eye witnesses from Medan, Indonesia's third largest city, have slowly been arriving.

A dutch family reported being caught by the quake in Medan in their hotel beds: "I woke up and felt sick, I was very confused for a moment, then it was clear, we were in an earthquake. The hotel did not have stairs and we had to take the elevator down – 9 floors of mortal fear. Immediately following the shock, staff and guests gathered on the pavements outside. After a couple of hours we returned to our rooms, picked up our belongings and headed south."

Medan, a city of 2.5 million, was spared the brunt of the quake and has now become a relief coordination centre for the rescue efforts in the hardest hit region, Aceh, to the Northwest, where at least 30,000 people are believed to have died. but many areas have not been reached yet.

Indonesian television shows uncensored horrific and tragic footage from Bandah Aceh - corpses lying bloated in shopping centres, dazed and confused families staggering through flooded streets, victims impaled on power line poles, it is almost unwatchable.

The water temperature in Lake Toba has risen somewhat in the last days and local fishermen report far greater catches than before the quake.

[more to follow]