Thousands take part in tsunami drill in Aceh

Hotli Simanjuntak, The Jakarta Post, Banda Aceh    

Panic spread among the hundreds of people along Ule Lhuee beach Sunday, as the tranquil morning was shattered by a loud boom, followed by a magnitude-8 earthquake. 

The panic grew as the tsunami siren wailed from the nearby facility in Blang Oi, Meuraxa Ule Lhuee district, warning that the quake could potentially cause a tsunami. 

People wasted no time in leaving the beach, running in a chaotic crowd to the nearest evacuation facilities in Lambung, Deah Geulumpang and Alue Deah Tengoh villages and the Tsunami and Disaster Mitigation Research Center (TDMRC) building in Gammpong Pie. 

There was, of course, no tsunami that day: The excitement was part of a tsunami drill program jointly conducted by the Banda Aceh municipal administration and the Indonesian Institute of Sciences (LIPI). 

Thousands of people from various villages were involved in the drill, many of whom could not stop from crying in real panic. 

"I'm still traumatized by the 2004 tsunami," one resident, Aisyah, said as she fled. "I just don't want it to happen again." 

The vice regent of Banda Aceh and chairman of the disaster preparedness drill committee, Illiza Saadudin, said the drills were important for all those living in earthquake-prone regions. 

"Through the drill we learn what we should do when disasters such as earthquakes and tsunamis hit," Illiza said. 

Pariatmono, a member of the 2008 National Tsunami Drill Team, said many lessons could be learned from the drill, including identifying weaknesses in the disaster handling system. 

"The drill has shown us many things we have to fix in the future, but they are all still within the tolerable limits," Pariatmono said. 

He praised the municipal administration's initiative in conducing the drill, which, he said, was a "breakthrough". 

One example of this was the vertical evacuation conducted during the drill, which he said had never before been done in Indonesia when evacuating disaster victims. 

"The initiative should serve as a model for other regions, especially those that are prone to tsunamis," Pariatmono said. 

The Indonesian government has been conducting disaster-handling simulations in various regions across the country. Other coastal regions holding a tsunami drill this year include Padang and Bengkulu. 

Pariatmono said the evaluation of the tsunami drill conducted in Banda Aceh on Sunday would be used as a reference for tsunami handling for other countries whose territory lies on the Indian Ocean. 

"On December 26, 2009, these countries will simultaneously conduct tsunami drills with Indonesia as the leader," Pariatmono said. 

He added the event would also be held in memory of the 2004 tsunami.