Early last Sunday on an isolated Pacific island, few people were around to notice as boats started to bob crazily in the harbour. It was the first sign of the tsunami that followed the Chilean earthquake.
A tsunami early warning system had failed, but one 12-year-old girl saved most of Robinson Crusoe Island's 650 inhabitants.
Martina Maturana, daughter of the island's policeman, was at home when she felt a tremor and peered out the window at the pitching boats, according to Chile's La Tercera newspaper.
She ran 400m to the town square to ring the emergency bell, prompting other islanders to flee to high ground.
A few minutes later, waves swept 300m into the village, killing up to eight people and seriously injuring eight others.
"We took off and three minutes later the sea rose 20m high, and a large wave came and destroyed my house," one man told Chilean television.
"I heard all the wood creaking and then this part collapsed and the sea carried away the whole house."
- INDEPENDENT
Islanders saved by the bell
AdvertisementAdvertise with NZME.
