By Alabama Public Radio
Decatur, AL – A Decatur resident had a narrow escape from Sri Lanka, getting out only hours before tsunami waves hit and killed almost 22,000 people in that country. Anula Samarakkody was back in Alabama before she learned of the destruction in her native country. Samarakkody owns two hair salons in a Decatur shopping center. She had been in Colombo, Sri Lanka, since early this month to help make funeral arrangements for her mother. She left the island nation Sunday only about four hours before the tidal waves hit. Samarakkody says she spoke with her immediate family in Colombo earlier this week, and they were alive and well. However, they had not been able to reach other relatives who live in the south part of the country.