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