Santa Maria Optometrist Reflects on 10th Anniversary of 2004 Tsunami Disaster

It’s been 10 years since an earthquake and tsunami killed nearly a quarter of a million people in the Asia-Pacific Region.

Two brothers from Santa Maria experienced the natural disaster as it unfolded.

Ron Ng is an optometrist and his brother Daniel Ng, a dentist at Ng & Ng Dental and Eyecare in Santa Maria.

On Dec. 26, 2004, the brothers and their families were on a beach in Burma when they noticed massive waves starting to form.

The Ng families went indoors where they watched 6 foot high waves from the safety of their hotel and had no idea they had just survived a natural disaster that devastated parts of South-East Asia.

Ron and his brother returned to Santa Maria just a few days later and went straight back to work.