Death in Indonesia
The death toll from the 7.5-magnitude earthquake and tsunami in Indonesia’s Sulawesi island soared to 832 as of midday yesterday, with officials seeing the figure rising to over a thousand.
Indonesia, dotted with volcanoes and sitting along the Pacific Ring of Fire, is no stranger to earthquakes, tsunamis and volcanic eruptions. In the December 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami that reached up to 100 feet high, which was generated by a magnitude 9.3 undersea earthquake, most of the estimated 227,898 people who died in 14 countries were from Indonesia’s Banda Aceh.
What is happening in the aftermath of the quake in Sulawesi should teach other countries along the Ring of Fire, including the Philippines, precious lessons in disaster preparedness.
As of yesterday, there were long lines for fuel in the worst-hit Sulawesi cities of Palu and Donggala. Water pipes were damaged and food supply lines disrupted. Lootings were documented in several areas, with people taking not just food and other basic necessities but also widescreen television sets. The TV service will have to wait for the restoration of electricity; power is out in the quake-hit areas.
Screams for help were heard in the rubble of collapsed buildings, but rescue efforts were slowed down by the lack of heavy equipment. Teams worked with their hands to dig out survivors and the dead from the rubble. Continuing aftershocks further slowed down the operations.
Philippine disaster relief and mitigation authorities should study what is happening in Sulawesi. The disaster preparedness of its stricken areas are similar to that of Metro Manila and other areas lying along the East and West Valley Fault, which seismologists have warned is ripe for the so-called Big One. Studies in recent years have shown that Metro Manila and surrounding areas are woefully unprepared for a powerful quake.
Japan, which has also suffered from cataclysmic earthquakes and tsunamis, has possibly the most sophisticated system of responding to such calamities. Yet nothing could fully prepare it for the magnitude-9.1 earthquake and apocalyptic tsunami that left nearly 19,000 people dead or missing in eastern Japan in 2011. This was followed by a meltdown in the Fukushima nuclear reactor.
Science still cannot predict when and where an earthquake will strike. But seismologists can identify the high-risk areas, which in the Philippines include much of the National Capital Region. The earthquake and tsunami in Sulawesi should give urgency to boosting disaster preparedness in the Philippines.