Mira, the harbour's volunteer coordinator, writes the evacuation list by lamplight as the typhoon nears
CEFR B1Typhoon storm-surge rescue~22 min13 chapters per route

Interactive English speaking story

The Night the Sea Wall Broke

A typhoon, a cracked sea wall, a missing ferry, and your voice on the emergency radio.

Typhoon Kalea is turning toward the harbour town of Lantern Cove: a three-metre storm surge will hit at one in the morning, the old sea wall has a crack nobody can explain, and the last ferry from the islands has gone silent. As the harbour's newest volunteer coordinator, you warn a crowded night market, persuade a stubborn fisherman to leave his boat, guide forty lost passengers home by radio, and decide when the floodgate closes. Then a report hidden since March changes everything. Four endings.

ไต้ฝุ่น Kalea กำลังเปลี่ยนทิศมุ่งหน้าสู่เมืองท่า Lantern Cove คลื่นพายุซัดฝั่งสูงสามเมตรจะถาโถมเข้ามาตอนตีหนึ่ง กำแพงกันคลื่นเก่ามีรอยร้าวที่ไม่มีใครอธิบายได้ และเรือเฟอร์รี่เที่ยวสุดท้ายจากหมู่เกาะก็เงียบหายไปจากวิทยุ ในฐานะผู้ประสานงานอาสาสมัครคนใหม่ของท่าเรือ คุณต้องเตือนผู้คนในตลาดกลางคืนที่แน่นขนัด โน้มน้าวชาวประมงหัวดื้อให้ยอมทิ้งเรือ นำทางผู้โดยสารสี่สิบชีวิตกลับบ้านทางวิทยุ และตัดสินใจว่าจะปิดประตูกั้นน้ำเมื่อไร แล้วรายงานฉบับหนึ่งที่ถูกซ่อนไว้ตั้งแต่เดือนมีนาคมก็พลิกทุกอย่าง มีสี่ฉากจบให้เลือก

You play

Volunteer coordinator at the harbour emergency centre

Get the harbour town of Lantern Cove through one typhoon night: warn a crowded night market, persuade a stubborn fisherman to leave his boat, guide a missing ferry home by radio, and decide when the floodgate closes.

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Speak aloud · a few missed words are okay · 4 endings

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A story that changes with your voice

Preview the opening chapters

Follow one possible opening route below. Your choices lead to different outcomes. Speaking rehearsals revisit your chosen route after its resolution and are counted separately from the story chapters.

Mira, the harbour's volunteer coordinator, writes the evacuation list by lamplight as the typhoon nears
Scene 01

Red flags on the pier

11:20 p.m. Wind screams through the masts of Lantern Cove harbour, and two red typhoon flags snap above the pier. Typhoon Kalea has turned toward the town. Mira, the harbour's volunteer coordinator, holds a radio in one hand and her camera in the other. A three-metre storm surge will hit at about one o'clock, and the town office says a fresh crack has opened in the old sea wall. Behind you, music still plays at the crowded night market. Out on the black water, the last ferry from the islands is still at sea.

Three hundred lanterns: The night market glows under paper lanterns that swing wildly in the wind. Three hundred people are eating grilled squid, laughing and filming the storm clouds on their phones. Nobody is leaving. A student in a yellow raincoat pushes a loudspeaker into your hands: Maki, an 18-year-old volunteer who knows every alley of the old town. 'The Temple Steps are quick but steep,' she shouts. 'The harbour road is wide, but it runs along the water.' Then a stall roof tears off and flies into the dark. For the first time, people look up.
Scene 02

Three hundred lanterns

The night market glows under paper lanterns that swing wildly in the wind. Three hundred people are eating grilled squid, laughing and filming the storm clouds on their phones. Nobody is leaving. A student in a yellow raincoat pushes a loudspeaker into your hands: Maki, an 18-year-old volunteer who knows every alley of the old town. 'The Temple Steps are quick but steep,' she shouts. 'The harbour road is wide, but it runs along the water.' Then a stall roof tears off and flies into the dark. For the first time, people look up.

The man who stays: At the end of the old pier, one fishing boat still has its lights on: the Silver Gull. Its owner, Leo, is tying extra ropes with wet, angry hands. Everyone in Lantern Cove says he is as stubborn as the sea. Waves are already washing over the wooden boards, and the police ordered every boat owner off the pier an hour ago. A small radio on the deck is tuned to the ferry channel, and Leo checks it again and again. 'My mother is on the last ferry from the islands,' he says, without looking at you.
Scene 03

The man who stays

At the end of the old pier, one fishing boat still has its lights on: the Silver Gull. Its owner, Leo, is tying extra ropes with wet, angry hands. Everyone in Lantern Cove says he is as stubborn as the sea. Waves are already washing over the wooden boards, and the police ordered every boat owner off the pier an hour ago. A small radio on the deck is tuned to the ferry channel, and Leo checks it again and again. 'My mother is on the last ferry from the islands,' he says, without looking at you.

Useful expressions

English you can actually say

  1. 01I can take a loudspeaker and tell the night market to leave.
  2. 02I would like to check the crack in the sea wall with the engineer.
  3. 03Please leave your stalls now and follow the Temple Steps up to the school.
  4. 04Please take the harbour road to the hill and keep children in the middle.
  5. 05We should put sandbags behind the wall and tell the low streets to leave.

Story vocabulary

Words you meet in context

typhoon
พายุไต้ฝุ่น
storm surge
คลื่นพายุซัดฝั่ง
sea wall
กำแพงกันคลื่น
crack
รอยร้าว
coordinator
ผู้ประสานงาน
lantern
โคมไฟ / โคมกระดาษ
stall
แผงลอย
steep
ชัน

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Questions about this story

What English level is The Night the Sea Wall Broke?

The Night the Sea Wall Broke is written for CEFR B1 learners. The level describes the story's target language difficulty, not an official proficiency assessment.

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