JANUARY 18TH UPDATE
On
the 16th, our boat ASIA finished dropping off helicopter fuel for the
scientist Kerry Sieh, as well as fresh vegetables, aid relief buckets,
and a ½ page list of other supplies for Matt George in Gunning
Sitoli, on the northeast side of Nias. ASIA then traveled to Sibolga,
where it was on dock for 2 days and was ready to come back home.
Scuzz
had an opportunity to speak to Professor Kerry, and he shared more of
his findings. His research shows that the island of Simeulue rose 2-3
feet in the northern part of the island, and dropped maybe 1 foot in
the south. In Nias, he calculated that the tsunami wave that hit Sirombu
was 4.2 meters high. In Simeulue (which is north of Nias), the wave
as estimated at approximately 6.2 meters high. Most villagers in Simeulue
reported that the biggest wave hit around 9am –10am; while reports
are that an odd wave hit Nias around 3-4 pm. Kerry thinks this is because
the wave reflected off Sri Lanka, and bounced back onto the islands.
This is only theory at this point, but if accurate it’s just an
amazing example of the power of this quake and subsequent tsunami.
Around
7pm on the 17th, we got a call from Scuzz’s sister, Alyssa. She
is on the boat Mikumba with Matt George and Adam Kobayashi (AK), heading
up to the northwestern tip of Simeulue to a town called Alisan –
on our charts it says Alunam. This is one of the villages that has reported
heavy damage and many homeless. Alyssa told us they had been traveling
up from southwest Simeulue, and had seen 3 dead bodies during their
travels - one on the beach, the other 2 in the water.
Scuzz then rang our Indonesian business partner Eddie Om and his son
Andi to see if ASIA could travel to Simeulue instead of coming back
to Padang, and it was agreed it could be done. He also asked if we could
stock ASIA with building supplies, and fresh fruit in Sibolga. Again,
no problem. He then called Bidin, our friend in Sibolga and asked if
he could organize 3 tons of fresh fruit and veggies to be ready to load
on ASIA tomorrow evening, Jan 18, and it was done. A local driver was
hired to help load ASIA with as much medicine, juice and dry food they
could fit on.
Around
9:45pm on the 17th, Scuzz and his brother Matt left for the 10 - 12
hour drive, through the night, to Sibolga. Today, they loaded the boat
to the hilt with Rp. 125,000,000 (about $13,000 U.S.) of supplies that
were purchased by Sumatran Surfariis, and they will set off for northwest
Simuelue tonight. This was obviously a drastic change of plans (as versus
returning home to Padang), but this editor cannot say it was a big surprise.
Scuzz came back from his original trip thinking he had stopped to soon.
After being home for a few days and evaluating the status in Padang,
he felt his energies would be better directed in the field. Our surf
charter business will still press forward, and we will eventually have
time to retool our boats and get them in shape to provide more magic
vacations, but right now the time is to help those in need. Scuzz has
a tremendous rapport with these people and a great understanding of
how they run their villages, so we’re sure his energy and knowledge
is being put to the best possible use. (He’s not here to make
me delete this, so I can say it: the dude is a hero.)
Rob
Wilson, CEO of Rip Curl Indonesia, called the hotel this morning. He
is in Calang, which is just south of Banda Aceh, along with the folks
of IDEP. He informed us the wave that hit Calang was an astounding 25
meters high. We’ve heard reports that the population of Calang
is between 10,000 – 14,0000, but in every report we get, we get
information that equates to approximately 70 – 75% of the people
are dead or missing. Rob reports that of a population of 10,000, a total
7,600 are dead or missing. Earlier IDEP reports say that of a population
of 14,000, at total of 10,000 are dead of missing. It goes without saying
then that Calang was utterly devastated by the tsunami. Today, the rain
keeps coming down and the pits where the bodies are being put are now
full of water and bodies are floating. The smell is unbearable, and
the muddy land makes getting supplies in extremely difficult. They are
re-stocking supplies in Banda Aceh, but these people are truly in shock.
Sadly, there are reports that the Indonesian police and military are
basically doing nothing.
Oliver Langley, a fellow boat charter captain, called the hotel this
morning as well. He is on Barrenjoey (surf charter boat) at Nias. There
is a “Dr. Mark” (Kiwi Doctor) on board Mark Coleman’s
boat, the Nusa Dewata (also a surf charter boat). Ollie told us a couple
of days ago Dr. Mark treated a woman in very late stages of Malaria.
He worked on her with drips and medications, and as of today she is
recovering. Her family is all around her, and Oliver says her eyes are
sparkling and it’s amazing how she has come back around. Yeah!!!
These positive stories keep us going!! Oliver sounds good, and when
we asked if he was getting tired, he replied, "No, we want to keep
going!" So, so many people are helping.
Nusa
Dewata and Barrenjoey are working under the direction of SurfAid, and
SurfAid continues to work hard in the rebuilding process, particularly
on Nias. Their clinics at Sirombu and Mandrehe are into full swing and
their medical staff has treated about 1,000 Nias residents. A team of
40 SurfAid medical staff is on the ground in Nias, and they are following
a 30-day program, which will take them from village to village, immunizing
and treating the sick and injured. SurfAid has reported one case of
measles on Nias today, which is a major concern because it is so highly
contagious. SurfAid CEO Andrew Griffiths has also been putting in 18-hour
days for weeks now and shows no signs of slowing down.
That’s
the latest for now, but we’ll keep you posted. As you have seen
if you read our updates, it’s ever changing. We’d like to
ask everyone please say a prayer to whichever god you believe in, or
just send good vibes for all the volunteers helping out, all the captains
and crew that have worked long DAYS, not just hours, all the ground
crew doing much of the coordinating and organizing, the organizations
funding these efforts, and to all those lost or that have lost.
All are heroes.
Last
minute update, morning, January 19th:
Scuzz
called today (January 19th) to let us know the hospital beds have found
a home. Our business partner Andi, son of Eddie Om, has worked it out
with customs at Teluk Bayur Harbor in Padang to receive the hospital
beds and anything else we can have sent over. Sandra and Hal, Scuzz’s
folks, have been working on this from Australia, and it’s a major
roadblock cleared now that we have permission on the Indonesian end.
It will still require a great deal of coordination on their part, but
it looks like this will happen. We’ve contacted Dawn and Pete
at the Clean Ocean Foundation to see if there is any way they can get
outboard motors and any other essential items sent over and put in the
crates with the hospital beds. Also, we've been working with Noel at
www.tools4tsunami.org
(the have a great site - please check it out) to get important rebuilding
tools included in the crates. We’d
like to thank Pete, Dawn, Noel, Sandra, Hal, and everyone that is working
so very hard to make this happen. Again, it’s still in the works,
but these items would be extremely helpful in the relief and rebuilding
effort if we can make it happen.
From the field, Alyssa called and said there were 6 confirmed cases
of tuberculosis in the northwestern village on Simeulue called Alosan,
where they are doing relief efforts. She reports that the area has nearly
completely been destroyed. All the government offices are gone, almost
all the houses are gone, and virtually everyone is homeless. In short,
they need everything. Scuzz is on his way there right now. He is going
to do a run up, stay for 1 day, then take Alyssa back to Sinabang, in
southern Simeulue. There they will pick up doctors, medical equipment
being flown in from Medan, and any other supplies they can carry, and
then head back up. A second cargo boat will be right behind him. Some
of the things they are asking for are fishing gear, water purifying
kits, wheel barrels, cooking oil, and a megaphone so they can speak
to a lot of people at once.
Please send your prayers and good vibes so that we can make this happen.
It would be essential to saving lives and a faster rebuilding period.
Terimah Kasih!
