Surf's Up on a Geologic Time Bomb
Surfers to the rescue in the earthquake-afflicted Mentawai Islands.
MENTAWAI ISLANDS, Indonesia — -- The string of islands off the western coast of Sumatra is a surfing mecca with crystal blue water, clean swells and coral reefs created by volcanic activity.
The Indonesian islands also happen to be sitting on a geologic time bomb.
The Mentawai Islands have been in a state of emergency since the end of last month.
Earthquakes measuring up to 7.2 on the Richter scale have rattled the region, five months after consecutive temblors registering at 8.4 and 7.9 collapsed homes and destroyed entire villages.
Local tsunami alerts have led terrified villagers to flee to higher ground.
Estimates now show that 10 percent of evacuees still live in the hills.
The village of Berimanua is a ghost town due to major damage from the earlier quakes. Houses are empty and what used to be the local school is abandoned.
A few villagers, wild pigs, and a cat blind in one eye remain.
"Trauma, trauma," Hendrik says in the coastal village in which he grew up. He points toward a neighboring town, Pukarayat, explaining that's where everyone moved. "Where there is an evacuation site," he says.
Hendrik asks for cash to pay for rice and nails to help rebuild.
While many have fled to higher ground, there is one group not afraid to be here.
"I came to Mentawai to surf some crazy waves," says tourist Jason, one of several surfers who only gave their first names.
"I think I've caught approximately 48.2 waves," says Mark, another tourist.
They list local surf spots including world-class Hollow Trees and Lance's Left, as well as Maccaronies, Telescopes and Scarecrows — and a few other secret waves they wouldn't reveal.
The surfers are here to catch the ride of their life, but many are also here to help.
"That's what struck us, the needlessness of the suffering, the ridiculousness of the suffering," says physician Dave Jenkins, founder of the relief group SurfAid International.
The death rate for children in the worst affected areas is up to 25%, mostly due to preventable disease, according to SurfAid. Most of the Mentawai people are affected by malaria.
"They don't know etiology [the origin of disease]; they don't know the cause of disease," Jenkins says. "They don't know the value of nutrition. They just think that food is to satisfy hunger."
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