Indonesian Tsunami and Now the Rains
[Photo: Indonesia, Sunda strait tsunami concert site (Indonesian National Armed Services).]
By Rowan Wolf
The search for survivors continues in the Sunda strait in the aftermath of the Anak Krakatau volcanic collapse the set off a tsunami on December 22, 2018. Coming out of nowhere, and with no warning, the death toll is officially 429 as of this writing. This tsunami actually follows one from several months ago that was caused by an earthquake that hit Sulawesi island which combined killed approximately 2100 people.
The Indonesia government has told people to stay away from the coast and at higher elevation, but rescue efforts and assistance is being hampered by torrential rains. Many residents are still stranded on islands in the region and the National Armed Services are attempting to evacuate them to the mainland.
While it is not known whether a tsunami early warning system would be saving lives as the area continues to be rocked by earthquakes and volcanic activity, such a system certainly couldn’t hurt. However, the system put in place after the the disastrous 2004 earthquake and tsunami is non-functional. In fact, it has not worked since 2012. While the system in Indonesia is complex as it has to account for both earthquake and landslide sparked tsunamis, apparently the heart of the system – buoys anchored to the ocean floor that report tsunami waves as they pass over are just not working. It should be part of the response to this series of disasters that both the government and international aid, needs to get the entire system functional.
I find it shameful that there has been very little information about emergency response and how people can help. Perhaps by now we have enough disasters happening across the world that it is assumed that “everybody” knows how to help. However, all agencies do not respond to every emergency. In terms of the current tsunami response, Doctors Without Borders (aka MSF) is on the ground, Americares currently has a sponsored donor match for this response. USAID is sidelined by the Trump governmental closure, has a note on the site that they are closed due to lack of appropriations. OXFAM, is responding. Check on your preferred emergency response organizations to see if they are on the ground in the Sunda region. Thank you for helping.
I am a sociologist, writer and activist with life long engagement in social justice, peace, environmental, and animal rights movements. My research and writing includes issues of imperialism, oppression, global capitalism, peak resources, global warming, and environmental degradation. I taught sociology for twenty-two years, was a member of the City of Portland’s Peak Oil Task Force, and maintain my own site Uncommon Thought Journal. I may be reached by email at [email protected]. On a personal note, I am also a survivor of pulmonary hypertension by the gift of a donor’s lungs in 2011. I do my best to honor that gift by trying to be my best self and give to the world what small gifts I have. Among of those is a deep passion for life, and the lives of all those with whom I share the planet.