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Aerial picture by Dominic Sansoni, taken in the last year, shows the sturdy later 17th/early 18th-century construction of the old Dutch East India Company's Galle Fort, which enabled its fortunate occupants to escape direct impact from the huge tidal surge on Dec. 26, 2004 that enveloped the immediate surroundings with such destruction and loss of life. Today (Jan 1, 2005) we received the first email since the Tsunami from Olivia Richli, a British-born friend living in Galle who manages the venerable Amangalla (formerly 'New Oriental') Hotel inside this old Fort. Her home is just behind the trees at the lower far right of the above aerial photo, where you can see a single tall coconut tree towering over the surrounding foliage. Olivia reports: "...We watched it [the tidal surge] in wonder from the ramparts in front of the hotel, puzzling what it was. It was not until we saw the roofs below us moving, with cars and boats and people crashing towards the ramparts wall that we realized this was something out of the ordinary. The water did not breach the ramparts wall, but flooded through the old gate of the Fort with the ferocity of a huge fire hose, carrying boats and cars with it. One of those boats is now outside the front door of my house- around half a kilometer from the fisherman's beach it came from. To give you an idea of the force of this water, the boat is so heavy we are still unable to move it without a JCB. It was not until 2 days after that I walked out into the town. The shock of the devastation and carnage around us is still with me. It was a 100 times worse than anything I had imagined from my view from atop the ramparts. This place that I know and love has been utterly destroyed." Olivia adds that the luxury hotel she runs, recently refurbished by new owners at a cost of some $US 10 million, is currently being used as an emergency relief station. Most foreigners in the area have been repatriated, including her two young children who are now on their way to the UK via India. She is staying on to assist with the relief effort.