It is one of the memories that some wish they had never experienced. It killed more than 230,000 people, including 95 French people, destroyed the coasts of 13 countries and left thousands destitute. Fifteen years have passed and yet no one has forgotten the 2004 tsunami on the coasts of the Indian Ocean. December 26, 2004, 9:30 a.m. Hundreds of tourists lounge by the swimming pools of luxury hotels in Thailand. Some are having breakfast, others are finishing getting ready before going on an excursion. They are far from imagining that in a few minutes, nothing will remain of these heavenly places. Deep in the ocean, a cataclysm is brewing.
1000 kilometers away, in Indonesia, an earthquake of unprecedented intensity has just triggered a devastating tsunami. The earthquake is so strong, 9.3 on the Richter scale, that the earth rises, releasing a wave of incredible violence, exceeding 30 meters in height in certain places. This is the start of 6 hours of chaos. Hour by hour, minute by minute, from Indonesia to Thailand, via Sri Lanka, we will retrace the path of this tsunami. To understand this extraordinary phenomenon, 3D images will decipher the progress of the monster. Those who experienced the wave up close will tell us their story. We will penetrate the intimacy of their vacation and dive back into this cataclysm with them thanks to amateur films filmed 15 years ago.
This grumbling in the abysses of the Indian Ocean has come to remind us of the force of nature. It changed the lives of hundreds of French people who came to share family vacations or enjoy their honeymoon. Fifteen years later, what has become of the tsunami survivors? Charlotte, Philippe, JeanLouis, Robin, Anne, David, Fabien, Guillaume, Yannick and Géraldine will tell us about their fears, their suffering, but also the tremendous survival instinct that allowed them to come out alive. At the heart of the tsunami, a journey into the intimacy of the survivors.