JANUARY
11TH UPDATE
SCUZZ
IS BACK!
The
following is sort of a play-by-play from Scuzz regarding his
recent travels and relief efforts of the islands of northern
and western Sumatra:
Well,
there’s a lot to tell. I’ll start up in the Banyaks
as I think the website has covered until then. We surveyed
the north side of Tuangku Island, located at the northwestern
end of the Banyak chain, and the most likely affected area
of the 99 islands in this chain. We found a couple of fisherman
on Jan 7th that we welcomed onboard the ASIA for the ride
thru the shallow beautiful waters of this area. Their village’s
name is Haloban. It is the biggest village in that area, and
because it is quite protected and tucked away behind a couple
of smaller islands, up to 50 villagers from smaller islands
traveled there after the tsunami.
On
Haloban we were given a guided tour by the kepala desa (village
head) and saw the impact firsthand. Brick sea break walls
had been knocked down, whole houses were actually moved 20
feet from where they originally stood (now standing on new
land at new angles), and plenty of clean up still needs to
be done. Small fishing boats and canoes had been thrown around;
one had been smashed into two pieces. However, compared to
Sirombu and neighboring villages in that area of Nias, there
were no major injuries to villagers, no deaths, and no immediate
need to drop all we had in supplies here.
The biggest need was to make sure food and supplies continued
arriving to them as boats were not yet going from Singkil
to Balai (Banyaks capital), and hence there was no distribution
from Balai to all of the surrounding islands. We dropped off
rice and noodles and headed for Balai.
Throughout this whole trip, villagers said they felt the quake
around 8 am. As we moved further north, villagers said the
quake was felt longer and more powerfully. In regards to the
waves, all villages said the ocean started draining not long
after the quake. While villages further south in Nias reported
the biggest surge was between 3 and 4 pm, most of the Banyak
villages reported the biggest surge was at 9 am. This means
there was less time for people to get ready and evacuate,
or at least run, before they were hit by the tsunami.
The capital, Balai, was less affected. We mainly heard stories
of water rising, flooding, people being scared, and news of
more water coming soon. The major problem we saw was that
there hadn’t been any fresh supplies, and with the locals
being afraid of the water (the two fisherman we picked up
were the first to go back out fishing after the quake –
this was their first day returning to the sea) they were going
to face health problems if they didn’t get fresh supplies.
We
reported this to Padang, and Christina followed it up. She
has been so amazing. I know the fuel boat wouldn’t have
gone without her. Martin asked Christina to arrange food and
drinks for the Indies Trader 2, so Surf Aid International
could get out to help with medical needs. Samantha from IDEP
Foundation in Bali, along with Christina here in Padang, has
been AMAZING. On the evening of the 7th, after an hour debriefing
I gave to the aid organizations working in Padang, we were
asked to check out the north of Nias and come home. Martin
Daly asked me to take some time out and get a couple of barrels
for all I had contributed.
We
had wanted to check out the Aceh coast between Singkil and
Tapaktuan, as this looked likely to be affected. This area
has a gradually sloping sea floor, and from what we have learned
from the affected areas so far this is what makes the wave
stand up and build in power and size. We hadn’t heard
reports from there, so Alyssa (my sister) and I were very
keen to look. But after further review we agreed there needed
to be some coordination before traveling to that area, and
that we were best leaving it to the information center, run
by IDEP Foundation out of the Hotel Batang Arau in Padang,
to get the overall picture before venturing up there. This
is how we were able to get so much done so fast. By focusing
the aid where it was needed, we had covered a huge amount
of ground quickly and accurately, as well as given the first
aid to these areas. We did our best to relay support, kindness
and knowledge to the villagers as well as keep Padang updated
with accurate information on areas to assist.
We motored off on the 8th morning with the rising sun. These
99 islands in the Banyaks are shallow and full of dangerous
waters, which make traveling at night difficult. We checked
a couple of small islands on the way back and found the north
coast of Nias to be relatively okay. Waves had come up about
a meter to a meter and a half, but all ok - no damage and
things as normal.
We met up with the large cargo boat Sumber Rezeki, chartered
and supplied by IDEP Foundation for relief aid, as we came
around the south west of Nias. Sam, an IDEP volunteer, came
aboard to use our satellite phone, and discuss areas in need
of aid. We passed on information about all we had seen and
then parted ways arriving at Asu around 9pm. We learned that
Oliver, captaining the charter boat Barrenjoey, had some doctors
onboard, and, along with the Sumbar Rizeki, they had been
giving supplies, medical care and support to all the areas
badly affected on the Sirombu – Mandehe stretch of Nias
coast. At that time, the Barrenjoey was in at Afulu. It was
nice to know our reports back had made a difference and were
followed up so quickly.
Next morning it was good for the crew to rest, I got up and
had the first surf of the trip, happily noting that the wave
at Asu (in the Hinakos) is still its perfect self. A couple
of barrels and some great memories of surfing the point, overhead
and completely alone, not one, boat, person or small boat
in sight. I walked back along the land to check out the scene
and was amazed to find even the Brazilian camp that lies very
near the top of the wave at Asu was pretty much unaffected.
The whole way down saw debris, but no ruin to houses. I found
a fisherman and his wife at the end of the reef on the beach
at Asu and asked if they had received aid or medical support.
Unfortunately they had not, so Alyssa came in to do a full
check up on the island.
I
have been Alyssa’s interpreter for this trip, but on
Nias, and especially these outer islands, you really need
someone who speaks the local Nias dialect. Luckily we found
a village woman that could translate my Indonesian language
to Nias language, so I could translate it back to English
for Alyssa to diagnose and administer treatment. Alyssa did
a great job and the villages were incredibly thankful. We
dropped off all sorts of supplies, food and fuel, and we left
them in the happiest mood they’d been in for a couple
of weeks.
After treating the local villagers at Bawa, Alyssa and I pulled
up at the break, and I talked my sister into coming out for
a paddle. She was pretty brave as it was well overhead, and
after blowing me away by catching a good wave straight away,
she scared the crap out of me by not appearing. I was looking
and looking and eventually saw her, high-n-dry way inside
on the reef. She hadn’t known how to pull off and drove
my board up onto the reef, putting a nice big hole in it and
a good-sized tattoo on her knee.
Teresa, the only local nurse, and here husband Roger are both
Nias people that own a local surf camp on Bawa. They were
a great help interpreting the unusually guttural Nias dialect.
Alyssa was epic and the people were just stoked to be cared
for. We also dropped off heaps of supplies and let the locals
know that they are safe. We gave them nutritional info, and
found they also had not yet received any food or visits from
the local main town of Hinako.
We
didn’t finish all the people in the afternoon, so we
raced the mosquitoes out to see an amazing sunset, before
dropping anchor at the north end of the island near Bawa Sawa.
The wind started this night and blew out of the north - nothing
huge, but constant. We dodged rainsqualls and went in to Bawa
Sawa to give checkups to these people and drop more food,
fuel and supplies. We were amazed at these people’s
high blood pressure and similar symptoms.
The main problem on these islands is nutrition and diet. They
explained that pigs on the island would eat any vegetables
planted, which is why most fresh fruit and veggies are needed
to be brought to the island. I asked if they could build a
fence and they calmly explained, no, the pigs smash them down.
It’s difficult for them to get fruit and veggies in
the best of times, and now it’s difficult for them to
receive rice and noodles. Without these deliveries they only
have the basic food dropped by our boat such as noodles and
rice to survive on. Aid boats coming out of the main island
the Hinakos are needed to transport fresh food to them. So,
there is definitely some long-term work here to do.
We then moved on to the fuel boat anchored off Bawa, refueled
ASIA, and made our way back to Nias. We took the fuel boat
captain, who has family in Sirombu, to see the damage in his
home. The look on his face was shock and sadness. We organized
our crew to offload all that we had while Alyssa and I walked
thru town to check out how the aid was being used from our
previous trip. Cleaning had begun slowly and there were signs
of what the aid was doing. Tarps were up, makeshift shelters
being constructed, a soup kitchen was up and supplying villagers
with food, and some shops had food in them for sale. Roads
had been cleared so cars could transport supplies to them,
and we felt they were beginning to be self-sufficient again.
A
Nias local, Ama Bram, kindly took us out to the village Sisarahili
Dua, which is located on the beach just north of Sirombu --
the village that had so affected us. This village had lost
approx 116 people, and many houses were destroyed by the tsunami.
We took the back roads along dirt paths to where the survivors
had relocated, approx 3 - 4 kilometers inland, and saw a really
different side: people happy and playing in lush green tropical
Nias. We also saw the river that normally flowed through this
area had carried the wave deep inland. Trees were down and
their simple roads were now pooled with water more than a
kilometer into the island. Banks of the river were pushed
well back, and island debris was everywhere. It was visually
obvious a huge amount of water had charged up this river,
took out everything in its path, and permanently changed the
area. Its signature was firmly etched well over a kilometer
from the sea. As we got to the newly established village Sisarahili
Dua, we saw aid had definitely arrived. Tents had been put
up, villagers were cooking with supplies brought out on aid
boats, rainwater was being collected in containers brought
in, and the village children were playing soccer in the field.
This was our second time through this village. The villagers
recognized us and were very happy to see us again. There was
a new locally set up and run store of medicines with qualified
nurses giving out what’s needed. All supplies were from
donations. We gave them the rest of our medicine, and then
Alyssa checked the refugee camp to administer aid and assess
the overall health of the villagers while I met with the village
heads to find out what they now needed in the form of aid
relief and rebuilding. As with most places, they couldn’t
believe it was not some big aid organization - just a surf
charter with the help of their friends. This was great to
see and we rode back with a very happy feeling. We had definitely
made a difference.
The
spit from Sirombu to the pier was now only about 5 feet wide
in some places and, at this present high tide, was completely
washing over. There was no way you could walk it and keep
dry. This will eventually become an island in the near future,
but now it is just very dirty water. A very small cut I received
on the motorbike ride to the village last time we were dropping
off supplies is now quite infected. It made us realize what
the locals must go thru, and the infections they will be dealing
with from the cuts and scrapes they got from the thrashing
waves.
We finally got back to the boat. The wind that had been constant
all day had picked up and the seas were quite large. ASIA
surfed down big short swells, doing 10.5 knots. I was looking
forward to handphone access in Teluk Dalam, but when we arrived
at about 11pm, it was unavailable because extreme winds from
the night before had blown a coconut tree onto the tower and
damaged it. We said our thanks in Teluk Dalam, I got a shave
from an old rusty barber, Alyssa had 100 kids practice English
with her, and we left around 1pm.
We made the Telos before 6pm on Jan 10th, and we had a swim
on the equator before taking the scenic beautiful path thru
the waterways under what was a truly epic Indo sunset. Eating
dinner in the Tanah Bala strait, we lifted up the tin boat
and headed home. The morning saw us motoring into Padang with
the whole line of volcanoes welcoming us back.
More details of our experience will come in our next update.
We are trying to get all the info together and typed out.
There is still much activity going on in Padang with boats
and supplies, but we will do our best to keep more info coming.
Terima
Kasih - Scuzz