Tsunami in Sulawesi

Jaime C

Well-Known Member
Charter Member
Cager
Joined
Jul 16, 2016
Messages
1,253
I’m surprised I haven’t seen a post on this yet. Hope everyone is ok!

7.5 earthquake?
 
Over 20 earthquakes since 3 pm local time today, the largest one measured at 7.5 magnitude according to USGS.

Capture.JPG
 
Judging by that advertising billboard, the tsunami is maybe up to 3m?

This is going to be significantly worse than Lombok.
 
Early reports already count over 300 deaths, although according to VP Jusuf Kalla, the number could be in the thousands. I think his estimate is reasonable, and it would make this the largest disaster in Indonesia since the Aceh Tsunami.

Among the deads, is Anthonius Gunawan Agung, a young Air Traffic Controller at Palu Airport, who stayed his post to clear an aircraft for take off during the earthquake. He succumbed to his injuries today.


You can see the collapsed ATC tower in the picture below (courtesy Kompas).

2018_09_29_55048_1538210450._large.jpg
 
Among the deads, is Anthonius Gunawan Agung, a young Air Traffic Controller at Palu Airport, who stayed his post to clear an aircraft for take off during the earthquake. He succumbed to his injuries today.
Tragic. But I don't understand, the plane was on the runway ready to takeoff and it was important for him to stay and give it clearance? Why is that the priority versus simply letting the plane wait or come back to the terminal?
 
Watch 2012 and find out

You really expect a loaded plane to sit on a runway during an earthquake? With the ground splitting open beneath it? And then the runway cracking so no planes can land or take off again for months

Or coming back to a concrete terminal which will collapse on all the occupants?

Surely you are joking?
 
Tragic. But I don't understand, the plane was on the runway ready to takeoff and it was important for him to stay and give it clearance? Why is that the priority versus simply letting the plane wait or come back to the terminal?

It's probably one of those split second decisions that in hindsight could've had a resulted in a different choice. Still, the young man is dead for staying his post.
 
Watch 2012 and find out
...
Surely you are joking?

This definitely isn't the thread where I want to be argumentative... but surely you are joking if you're going to compare this to the film 2012! Personally, I think buckled into the seat of a modern passenger jet sitting on a wide open runway sounds like one of the most safe places on land to ride out a big earthquake. Everyone restrained. Heavy objects securely stowed. No structures nearby to be crushed by. An environment specifically designed to take shaking and strong forces of turbulence. Professionals trained in emergency response. Etc.

It seems far more dangerous to accelerate a plane to 150km/h on a shaking ground!


No doubt the young man was thinking of others and not himself, I commend his bravery and sacrifice even if it was the "wrong" decision, I'm just trying to understand it better.
 
Again I mean that with a plane sat on a runway, surely the best thing to do is to take off, and fast?

He probably assumed he would be safe in a solid concrete 20m tower, in fact the tower is still there but the roof collapsed.

Anyway not arguing, just saying I think any pilot would prefer to be airborn than sat on a runway with a huge crack appearing in your rear view mirror
 
.
So the looting has started.

While rescue workers are still trying the save people from the Mal Tatura Palu, many grab the chance. And there are even some inside and on the roof of the mall throwing down ‘interesting’ items.

No police, no military, no Regent, no...
But the camera crews can be there, hmm.

50187FB8-F82F-480D-9284-276ADF6575C8.jpeg
F77F3369-4D91-4610-AC60-918E269D4263.jpeg
97CD2A94-5AF9-446F-A276-BD1C14280724.jpeg
 
Something else that has the potential to become a scandal; it seems the Tsunami alert has been called off before the big one hit. It has been already reported many times in the foreign press, but the Indonesians have been rather quiet about it.

Now you can ask yourself if it had an impact on the amount of casualties with only a half hour difference or so, but it does prove something is wrong in the procedures.
 
From what I have read it was an underwater landslide that triggered the tsunami, I have no idea how that impacts things re warnings, again from what I have read online apparently this is different to an earthquake tsunami- something to do with epicentres.
I shall cite Wikkipedia & hope you forgive me as I haven't had chance to research further,

"With the speed at which tsunami waves travel through open water, no system can protect against a very sudden tsunami, where the coast in question is too close to the epicenter. A devastating tsunami occurred off the coast of Hokkaidō in Japan as a result of an earthquake on July 12, 1993. As a result, 202 people on the small island of Okushiri, Hokkaido lost their lives, and hundreds more were missing or injured. This tsunami struck just three to five minutes after the quake, and most victims were caught while fleeing for higher ground and secure places after surviving the earthquake. This was also the case in Aceh, Indonesia.
"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tsunami_warning_system
 
More footage of the tsunami... You can hear the person taking the video desperately calling pedestrians to get to higher ground.


That's quite heart rending and you can hear him crying at the end.
 
I recall a visit to Aceh a month or two ago, especially the tsunami museum and the grounded ship.
Seeing a 2.6 K tonne lump of metal over 3 miles inland is a real eye opener as to the force of the wave.

The latest news is not good, especially bad for those alive but trapped in buildings with no way out.
 

Users who viewed this discussion (Total:0)

Follow Us

Latest Expat Indo Articles

Latest Tweets by Expat Indo

Latest Activity

New posts Latest threads

Online Now

No members online now.

Newest Members

Forum Statistics

Threads
5,966
Messages
97,420
Members
3,036
Latest member
stats
Back
Top Bottom