Huddled together in the living room of their home, Ama, Gedo and Percy tried to think positive. Surely the storm would soon end. Daylight was only a few hours away and they were eager to survey the damage to their home. Even though they couldn't see any damage inside, they knew it was bad. Water was dripping through the ceiling everywhere and they were starting to get wet.

Outside, there was no sign the storm was ending. As before, the sky was filled with flashes of lightning. Every time the thunder echoed across the valley, they could feel the earth shake beneath them. The heavy rain continued to fall and was driven like stinging grains of sand by the gale force wind. As much as they wanted to seek safer shelter, there really was nowhere to go. Waiting out the storm seemed their only option.

Some thirty minutes later, they became very concerned when they thought they could feel the ground rumbling beneath them. Gedo went to the back door to survey the situation. Far up the hill above them, he could see trees and soil were slowly beginning to move. There was no doubt in his mind; they were about to be caught in a gigantic landslide.

"We gotta' get out of here!" He shouted frantically.

As quickly as they could, they scrambled out the back door. There was only one possible way to get away. They had to head downhill toward the lake and run parallel to the lakeshore. It was the only way to avoid being caught in the slide.

Just as they reached the shoreline, the hillside above them gave way with a mighty roar. A huge wall of mud, rocks and trees began flowing down the hillside directly toward them. As fast as they could, they began running along the lakeshore. In spite of their efforts, too much deadfall and underbrush blocked their escape. Seconds later, they realized it was impossible to outrun the slide.

Their greatest fear was being buried alive by the huge wall of debris coming straight toward them. In their panic, they did the only thing they could. They dove into the water and began to swim away from the shoreline. Even though the water was cold and rough, they were in a panic to escape the rapidly approaching landslide. Within a few seconds, the wall of mud, rock and debris hit the lake. The resulting waves completely swamped them. Struggling for air, they were barely able to stay afloat.

Once the huge waves passed, Percy spotted a portion of their roof floating in the water a short distance away. Desperately fighting his way through the wind, rain and rough water, he made his way toward what was left of their roof.

"This way!" He shouted as he struggled through the water. "Over here!" He screamed as he desperately gasped for air. "Over here! Follow me!"

As one can imagine, Percy was young and in excellent physical condition. Ama and Gedo though, were much older and were struggling to stay afloat. .........