They raced with tsunami but motorbike not fast enough

On Friday, Sabari Mohammed Ali came back for the first time since he lost his wife and daughter on Sunday. Sabari, who ran a small canteen at the beach selling rice dishes, said he was at the beach when the earthquake hit. He rushed home and brought his 16-year-old daughter, Nina, to the beach. Soon after, he noticed the water suddenly recede and expose the coral reef. It was strange, he said, but he did not know what to expect. Soon he saw a wave in the distance. When it smashed into the reef with huge force, he realized the family was in trouble.

He and his wife, Hafni, 37, their son Surya, 9, and Nina all jumped on his motorbike and tried to outrun the wave. But there were so many people trying to escape by the road that he could not drive quickly enough. The wave caught them when they had gone more than two miles. He was able to push his son onto the roof of a house but he could not get back to his wife or daughter.

‘‘Everybody says it’s the end of the world,’’ he said on Friday. ‘‘I don’t know what the future is. I have nothing left except one boy and one set of clothes.’’