Steemit Engagement Challenge - S5W2 | Earthquake and Tsunami Aceh 2004 - The worst natural disaster in modern history

I'm back again to take part in the Steemit Engagement Challenge Season 5 Week 2 Contest organized by the Steem for Betterlife Community with a very interesting theme, Natural Disaster In my place.

Aceh is one of the provinces in Indonesia that is most prone to natural disasters because the geological and geographical conditions of Aceh are located on a ring of fire that causes several volcanoes, and the subduction zone becomes the epicenter of earthquakes and tsunamis. From a hydrometeorological perspective, Aceh is also vulnerable to flash floods, landslides, overflow floods, and droughts. This series of natural phenomena makes the people of Aceh familiar with various disasters that come and go. This was conveyed by the Head of the Aceh Social Service, Alhudri, when giving a speech at the 2020 Psychosocial Assistance Service Trainer Training in Banda Aceh.

In this contest, I took the topic of the Aceh Earthquake and Tsunami Disaster that occurred on December 26, 2004. This natural disaster was even touted as the biggest natural disaster of this century and caused very severe damage. Not only Aceh - Indonesia, as many as 15 countries were affected by natural disasters with an estimated victim of 230,000 people. I am a living witness of the earthquake and tsunami disaster that occurred at the end of 2004. I lost many people I love because of the disaster. I was fortunate to have survived the disaster and got to witness the horrific destruction and strewn corpses after the tsunami. The toughest week of my life. disaster took all that was precious from me. Love and loved ones.

I will not elaborate further on the panic that occurred during the earthquake, especially when the tsunami came to sweep the mainland of Aceh because it was too sad. We really feel helpless as human beings even to help our friends or relatives. The most severe impact from the tsunami occurred in Banda Aceh City as the capital city of Aceh Province.

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Areas they affect
All areas in Aceh Province felt the impact of the Aceh Earthquake and Tsunami that occurred on Sunday, December 26, 2004 at 07:58:53 am. The disaster not only caused material loss and loss of life but as a whole undermined the morals and mentality of the Acehnese survivors. Everything is ruined. Even the government is powerless to cope with the consequences of the disaster without help from other countries and the international community who sympathize with the disaster that occurred in Aceh.

How do they cause ruin?
The disaster not only had an impact on casualties and all important infrastructure was completely destroyed, such as electricity, availability of clean water, medicines and others. But also has an impact on severe environmental damage.

How are the people affected?
Helplessness and hopelessness, perhaps the right words to describe the psychological condition of the Acehnese. Loss of property can still be found, but the loss of loved ones and having to live alone really destroys the morale and mentality of the tsunami victims. The main thing that the Acehnese do is find the bodies of their beloved family members and bury them properly. Even though many of us failed even I couldn't find the bodies of my sister's beloved cousins and friends.

But we Acehnese are lucky to have ancestors like Teuku Umar, Tgk. Chik Ditiro and great women like Cut Nyak Dhien, Cut Meutia, Admiral Malahayati (the world's first female admiral). They are national heroes from Aceh who dared to resist colonialism in the past. Their enthusiasm and mentality decreased to the people of Aceh to be able to rise from adversity and organize the future again.

The most probably cause of it
The cause of the 2004 Aceh earthquake and tsunami was triggered by a tectonic earthquake which is also the third largest earthquake ever recorded in the world and has the longest plate fault observed by researchers. This tectonic earthquake in the Indian Ocean caused an earthquake with a magnitude of 9.2 on the Richter scale and a tsunami as high as 15 meters or 50 feet which then hit the mainland of Aceh and destroyed it.

Was there a prior alert from the Government?
The answer is "No". The government was completely unprepared for the earthquake and tsunami that occurred. This is because an earthquake and tsunami in Aceh that has never happened before. But now there is an early warning from the government in the event of an earthquake or a tsunami.

However, there is an interesting story in Simeulue Regency during the earthquake and tsunami. In 1907, there was an earthquake in the coastal area of Simeulue with a magnitude of 7.6 on the Richter Scale which was accompanied by a tsunami that caused damage and claimed many lives.

Since that incident, the word "Smong" has become a speech culture that spreads among the people of Simeulue to describe the deadly earthquake and tsunami disaster. The message was passed down from generation to generation. The message from Smong is "Run and go up the hills (highlands) in case of a strong earthquake". The local wisdom of "Smong" saved the lives of tens of thousands of Simeulue residents during the 2004 earthquake and tsunami. For the record, the 2004 tsunami in Simeulue Regency only had an impact on infrastructure damage without any casualties.

What can you do in case of a situation like that?
I joined several non-governmental organizations from within and outside the country during the rehabilitation and reconstruction of Aceh. I volunteer.

The international community has an important role in helping Indonesia, especially the people of Aceh, to recover after the 2004 earthquake and tsunami. I still remember well, all people in this world donated their resources to be sent to Aceh. Thank you for the great love.

^Source

One of the reasons for the large number of victims of the tsunami in Aceh in 2004 was the lack of knowledge about the tsunami. After the earthquake occurred, the sea water receded with the appearance of fish on the sea coast. People flocked to the sea to see this phenomenon, plus the incident occurred on Sunday so that many Acehnese people took advantage of their holidays to travel to the beach with their families. 15 minutes after the earthquake, the receding sea water then became a big wave that swept the mainland of Aceh as far as 8 Kilometers with a height of more than 2 meters.

If at that time the people of Aceh knew the impact that an earthquake measuring 9.3 on the Richter scale could have, of course the people could have used 15 minutes after the earthquake to save themselves so that the number of victims did not increase.

Before leaving the contest, I would like to share an important note with readers.

In every catastrophic event, especially natural disasters that cause total destruction and chaos. We must increase caution and vigilance against irresponsible parties. They often take advantage of this opportunity to take advantage. The main point in the spotlight is human trafficking. We all have to keep this extraordinary evil from happening in this world.

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Thus my participation in the Contest: Natural Disasters In My Place. I also call other steemian like @dederanggayoni @hoesaid @radjasalman and @asiahaiss to join the contest.