Disaster reporting: a month of tsunamis and volcanic eruptions
Late October brought sadness and trauma to Indonesia. People here are used to living with a volatile environment. Floods, earthquakes and volcanic activity happens frequently, and for better or worse, people are more accustomed to seismic activity. That does not making coping with disaster easier, and every situation is different, meaning aid delivery and rescue efforts all face new challenges. As relief workers began making headway in the recovery efforts in the remote Mentawai Islands, off the coast of West Sumatra, a volcano 800 miles to the east, in Central Java, started wreaking havoc.
Mount Merapi erupted for nearly the 10th time on October 26, sending superheated gas and ash shooting down the volcano’s slopes. The death toll eventually reached more than 300 people, and displaced around 400,000 at the disaster’s peak. I visited the slopes of Mount Merapi, where ash fell like snow, blanketing everything. People all wore green surgical masks and watered the ground whenever possible to reduce the swirling dust that stuck in people’s eyes and hair and clothing. Below are some links to the reporting I did from the volcano.
I tried to give some insight into what people were feeling, and how they reacted to an increasingly fraught situation.The people who rely on Merapi for their livelihoods are not stupid. They do have deep beliefs in the mountain, and many are not keen to leave their homes, but as the volcano became more active, they recognized the need for safety. Most of them said the evacuation camps were uncomfortable. They worried about their homes, their health and their futures. They’re said they were used to sweeping ash away, fixing damaged homes and picking up the pieces from a volcano whose presence is integral to their existence. But as weeks passed and many remained in shelters their hopes for rebuilding their lives became even more dim.
- Continued Blasts from Mount Merapi Close Shops, Schools
- Indonesia’s Mt. Merapi shelters overflow with restless evacuees
- Indonesian Volcano Grounds Planes; Evacuated Residents Restless to Go Home
And here’s a piece I particularly enjoyed from the Global Post. The author lived in Indonesia for five years and got his start covering Merapi’s blast in 2006. I think it provides good context to the way people view the volcano.