Abdul Razzak is a hero in India.

The Nicobar islander, an employee of India's Port Management Board, was awakened at work on December 26th by the sound and fury of his shaking observation tower. Immediately, Razzak recalled that which he had learned from National Geographic's Killer Wave: Power of the Tsunami and Volcano: Nature's Inferno, two cable tv shows Razzak had watched last year.

On December 26th, when the earthquake struck his home island in the Indian Ocean, he had a sense of what was coming.

Like Paul Revere, who rode on horseback to deliver the news that the British were coming, Razzak's two co-workers took Razzak's motorcycle and went village-to-village to warn their neighbors.

"I immediately told my colleagues to take my motorcycle and rush to as many villages as they could and tell them to evacuate immediately,'' Razzak said.

Razzak ran on foot past the jetties and the villages, screaming:

Go back! Go to the hills! The water is coming!

A Tsunami is coming!

Fortunately for 1,500 islanders living in villages near Razzak's place of work, Razzak and his co-workers, the Paul Reveres of their land, brought the warning in time.

Most importantly, their neighbors listened.

It has been reported that the tsunami would have taken less than thirty minutes to reach Tarasa Dwip in the Nicobar archipelago. In that time span, Razzak and his fellow co-workers was able to help save all but three people.

The warning enabled the islanders to climb to the highest hill in their village - out of harms way.

Some had to climb two miles (three kilometers) to get away.

They panted and screamed, holding hands and hugging their children close as they ran. Many fell and hurt themselves.

The three people who died were two women and a baby girl.

As a result of Razzak, his co-workers and the lessons learned from Killer Wave: Power of the Tsunami, five villages were saved.

The land and property was demolished, but most of the people of the villages were saved.

For five days following the tsunami, no help reached their island.

Villagers laid out wet rice on a hilltop to dry. The rice was taken from a government warehouse.

Rice and coconuts served as their lunch and dinner until they were evacuated to safety on other islands.

This week, all have been taken to safety.

Once those who survived were on dry land, Razzak said:

People said I had saved their lives.

But at a time like that nothing like that comes to mind.

It's only, 'Save them, save them, save them before the wave comes'.

Tsunamis can be caused by three reasons, Razzak recalled: an undersea earthquake, a volcano erupting within the sea, or a massive boulder plunging into the water.

According to National Geographic, Razzak reported that within minutes the first big wave came and caused some damage. Less than ten minutes later the second wave crashed and then a third that was even higher, some twenty feet (six meters).

The Nicobar Islands, where Razzak calls home, are only a few hundred miles from the epicenter of the earthquake that has claimed the lives of over 150,000 people.

Razzak will return to his port tower on the island. However, before he returns, he plans to spend time at home in Diglipur town for a few days with his wife, two daughters -- and his cable TV.

Congratulations Abdul and friends, National Geographic, and all those who led the people of Nicobar Island to safety.

Inspire & Be Inspired (R).

Here's to healthy, adventuresome, soulful and more "Paul Reveres of 2005" living!

~ Jennifer Carolyn King