Geography has changed, the beach has moved away. Everything that was underwater, corals, spong-es and algae is now out of the water for hundreds of kilometres along the coast-line. The earthquake on Dec. 26 lifted the seafloor about 2 meters both in Simeulue and Nias.

Now, one year after, the situation remains difficult. “Everything is changed in the lives of Northern Sumatra’s inhabitants”, says Sebastiano Gulinello—the Italian owner of the boat which carried us into the tsunami area. He has been living in Indonesia since 1999, doing surfer’s cruises.

Our first dive, in front of Busung, one of the small villages on Simeulue, was a little surprising: There was no apparent damage to corals due to tsunami, though there were some signs of dynamite fishing. The ecosystem was healthy, with corals adapt-ed to the strong waves that make this island a favourite among surfers.

Fish community seems to be in a good condition with butterflyfish, which are corallivorous, (eat corals, ed) and therefore a good indicator of reef health, are abundant and colourful.