Since 2005, earthquakes, tsunami and volcanic eruptions have damaged Aceh, Nias, the Hinako Islands, Simeulue, and most recently in The Mentawais.
Southern Sumatra, West Java, G-Land, Bali and all islands east of Bali were not affected by the earthquakes. "After-the-quake"
surf photos here
By January 2006, Nias, Simeulue, the city of Banda Aceh,
Lhok Nga and the Hinakos have all rebuilt accommodation near the surf and are operating again. So a great time to go back and support the locals (and score uncrowded perfect waves).
September 2007: Continuing Earthquakes in PADANG and The
MENTAWAIS
There have been hundreds of small quakes since the huge
2004 Boxing Day 9.3 quake and tsunami which was the second-largest earthquake on record.
That quake tore a 1,200km rupture along the Sumatra-Andaman fault, lifting the ocean floor by more than 42ft (13m). This produced tsunami waves reaching maximum heights of 98 Feet, which killed almost 300,000 people in 11 countries around the Indian Ocean.
There have been continued aftershocks in the Mentawais. Thousands of
residents of the capital city of Padang have moved to higher ground,
although all Surf Charter Yachts remain active.
In the Mentawais the situation after the mid-September quakes
has become grim, with tens of thousands of locals now living rough in the jungle
because their houses were destroyed. Food is scarce, the monsoons bring
frequent rain, the conditions are unsanitary and people have flus and
fevers, and possibly malaria. This is a very serious situation, with a
high risk of disease and/or malaria outbreak.
SurfAid International is continuing to respond with urgent medical treatment and disease prevention programs.
Please donate now to help these unfortunate people.
Surf Aid International - www.surfaidinternational.org
SurfAid's efforts have been made possible by major donations from AusAid, nzaid, Quiksilver, Billabong, Direct Relief, Burton and the contributions of many other individual and corporate donors. There's
no better charity for a surfer to help.
