We had a real scare here on Wednesday: a 7.5 magnitude earthquake.
The biggest one I've ever experienced. The epicentre was actually on the
island, not out at sea: it was on the north-west coast, just north of
our project area (Salang), in Simeulue Barat sub-district.
http://www.gdacs.org/reports.asp?eventType=EQ&ID=34930&system=asgard&location=IDN&alertlevel=Orange&glide_no=&datetime=20080220&groupid=34919
I
was in the landcruiser coming back from the field, and we were crossing
a bridge (all of which are already suspect without an earthquake to
destroy them!) when the driver slowed down; ahead of us, a motorbike and
its two passengers, one a little girl, fell off for apparently no
reason. It all seemed a bit strange! Then the car started to stutter,
like it had a flat tyre and was stalling (that's what I actually thought
it was). It was only when I noticed all the trees swaying and the car
was really rocking that I realised what it was! It was such a bizarre,
unfamiliar sensation.
Luckily, we were off the bridge
by then but had stopped to wait it out. The passenger in the front
jumped out quick smart, he was so scared. In the back, I didn't have
time to get out, and I couldn't do anything I was so shocked by it. It
was really disconcerting and I was in shock for a little while once I
realised what had just happened. I didn't like it one bit, being totally
unable to control what was happening to me. Thank goodness we didn't
get stuck on the bridge.
There was quite a
large aftershock soon afterwards, and a small one about ten minutes
later. People were clearly traumatised by the whole thing, the memories
of the big one here three years ago still fresh in their minds. As we
continued back to Sinabang, there were hundreds of people sitting on the
road and outside of their houses, with shocked and scared expressions
on their faces, packing up their things, all their valuables bundled up
in boxes, rucksacks, bags and wheelbarrows. Some households had put out
their valuables by the road: stereos, tvs etc. Many people were heading
to the hills to wait it out on higher ground; others were just sitting
outside their houses waiting for the next aftershock. There were also a
lot of people warily watching the sea to find out if a tsunami was
coming. I must admit I had one eye on the beach as we drove along the
coastal road. I don't think many people slept in their houses last
night.
Our staff were all pretty scared by it too. Most
of them aren't from here and haven't experienced big quakes before.
Some of the staff that were still in the field slept outside in the
compound or in the landcruisers. Others slept in the office here in
Sinabang, particularly if they would have been home alone otherwise. My
boss camped out at my place, as his wife and baby are still in Medan and
he didn't want to be in his house alone either! We polished off a
bottle of gin to calm our nerves while contemplating it all that night!
The
other thing that was a bit scary was that all mobile signal was lost
and so we couldn't communicate with anyone. The sat-phone in the office
had a flat battery but luckily the other one was working and my boss
managed to get in touch with all staff to make sure they were ok.
There
wasn't much damage in Salang, even though it was quite close to the
epicentre. The major damage happened in Simeulue Barat. A few temporary
shelters and some BRR(govt)-built houses collapsed (not surprisingly
given the quality of the construction!), and unfortuantely some of the
Japanese Red Cross community halls suffered damage to walls and
ceilings. Our latrines held up really well, apart from a few; many more
were damaged where construction had just begun and the brickwork was not
yet reinforced. So we came out of it unscathed, thank goodness. We
don't need any further hold-ups to our program!
I really hope that's the worst one I experience here. I never want to experience it again.
Here's the report from the initial assessment of the damage:
21st Feb 08 at 11.30
Subdistrict: Simeulue Timur
2 deaths, 26 light injuries, 1 light damage to a harbor, 1 light damage to Junior High School
Simeulue Tengah
3 offices – light damage, 2 health facilities –light damage, 1 Junior High School/SMP – serious damage
Simeulue Barat
25
people light injuries, 3 mosques – serious damage, 1 mosque – light
damage, 1 market – light damage, 9 offices –serious damage, 11 offices –
light damage, 2 health facilities – serious damage, 2 health
facilities – light damage, 1 harbor – serious damage, 5 Primary Schools
serious damage, 2 Junior High Schools – serious damage, 1 Senior High
School - serious damage, 2 Senior High Schools - Light damage, 1 Police
Office – serious damage
Teupah Selatan
1 death
Salang
2 Primary schools – light damage, 1 Senior High School – serious damage
Teupah Barat
3
houses – light damage, 2 mosques – light damage, 15 market/kiosks
–light damage, 15 offices – light damage, 2 bridges – light damage, 5
Primary schools – light damage, 2 Junior High Schools –light damage, 1
Senior High School – light damage.
Teluk Dalam
7 houses – serious damage, 13 houses –light damage
Alafan
No info – so far
So that's all pretty devastating ...
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