My mother-in-law's maid just told me her newly-built house in her kampung (village) in Surabaya, Indonesia has been destroyed by the earthquake and floods (as high as chin level).
Her mother and family fled to her mother's sister's place for safety, but the house, paid for with her earnings for the past few years, has been wiped out.
I feel so sad for her, but we are all relieved that her family is safe.
Excerpt:
BBC: Sea surges kill thousands in Asia
Thousands of people have been killed across south and east Asia in massive sea surges triggered by the strongest earthquake in the world for 40 years.
The 8.9 magnitude quake struck Aceh in northern Indonesia, sending huge waves across thousands of kilometres of sea.
At least 1,500 died in Sri Lanka and more than 1,000 were killed in India.
Casualty figures are rising throughout the region including in the tourist resorts of Thailand, which were packed at the peak of the holiday season.
At least 400 people died in Indonesia, but exact numbers for people killed, injured or missing in the countries hit, are hard to confirm.
