A Case Study: Sumatra Earthquake 2005

Sumatra Earthquake 2005

Believe it or not, the earth is moving every minute of every day. Even now, as you are reading this, the earth’s plates are not still. Because of the earth’s convection current, the upward and downward movement of molten rocks inside the earth, plates move. (“How do plates move?”). Occasionally, there are sudden movements within the earth’s crust. This action usually results in earthquakes.


Earthquakes can vary in the severity. It ranges from a magnitude of 1 to 10 on the Richter scale, where 1 is the least and 10 the greatest. Earthquakes with a magnitude of less than 3.5 are generally not felt, while earthquakes with a magnitude of 9 can cause severe damage to surrounding areas and life. (Louie).

Sumatra, Indonesia is a huge piece of land located near the boundary of the Eurasian and Indo-Australian Plate. Indonesia is composed of hundreds of small islands, and Sumatra is one of the major ones. Due to the location, Sumatra had been shaken by numerous earthquakes in the past.

An earthquake had struck Sumatra in March 28, 2005 at 11:09 pm. It had a magnitude of 8.7 and can be felt in the surrounding areas including Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore and Bangkok. The focus, or the exact point of the earthquake, was estimated to be about 200 kilometers northwest of Sibolga and 1,400 kilometers northwest of Jakarta and 30 kilometers deep. This earthquake had created fear that a tsunami like the one in December the previous year which killed more than 300,000 people will occur. Fortunately, none were reported. However, during the hours after the earthquake, numerous small aftershocks followed, the strongest being 6.7 on the Richter scale. (Prapanya).


The earthquake was believed to be caused by the movement of a destructive margin. The Australia plate and Sunda plate meets at the Sunda trench where the Australian plate subducts and becomes part of the mantle (one of Earth’s layers). This earthquake was thought to be triggered by the movement of the plates in December the year before. (“Earthquake Summary Poster”).

The earthquake had taken at least 300 lives on the Indonesian Island, but some news agencies reported that about 1,000 to 2,000 people were killed. At least 1,000 homes were destroyed. Roughly 10,000 to 15,000 people ran to higher grounds for safety at the time of the earthquake for fear of a tsunami. There were a number of traffic accidents ad electricity and phone service were out in the city. (Prapanya).

As a result of the earthquake, the CWS (Church World Service) Emergency Response Program Staffs came in to help. They were the middle person for the donations. If any of you are interested, the donations can be made online or via credit cards and telephones, (800) 297-1516, ext. 222. ("Church World Service Emergency Response Program .").

After the earthquake, the Indonesian government had come up with a post-tsunami blueprint. The blueprint included the rebuilding of society, restoring the economy, rebuilding infrastructure such as roads, railways, and telephone poles. There was also the no-building zone plan. This plan was basically creating a zone near the sea with no buildings, so that if there was another tsunami resulting from earthquakes, the damages to the country and people won't be as severe. ("News: Indonesia: Earthquake - Mar 2005, Indonesia to review post-tsunami rebuilding plan after.").


After six months of the great quake, there were a number of organizations who have came in to help. SurfAid was one of the many that had sent in a considerable amount of doctors and nurses to aid people who have been injured by the earthquake (both the one in March 2005 and December 2004). More than 7,000 people from Nias and Simeuleu were treated. Mostly the injuries were emergencies – infections and fractured bones. There were also vaccinations, nutrition and malaria control clinics located in the area to help people who have lost their homes and belongings. (“"Press Releases: Indonesia: Earthquake - March 2005, South Asia: Six months on - Suraid's commitment.").

It took Indonesia more than one year to recover from the disasters that have hit the country twice during three months. The survivors desperately need a lot of help. Everyone was trying to work hard to recover, so that they find a better future for themselves and families. Some people were working days and nights to find money to help their families. Others were suffering from the effects that the disaster had brought them. The recovery was extremely slow because Nias was one of the most undeveloped regions in Indonesia. (Tarigan). If this earthquake was to occur in a more developed region or country, then it would probably take them less time to recover from those badly injured wounds.

Bibliography
Pictures: (according to order)
1. http://www.dkimages.com/discover/Home/Science/Earth-Sciences/Geology/The-Earth/Plate-Tectonics/Plate-Boundaries/Plate-Boundaries-13.html
2. http://www.setileague.org/iaaseti/smiscale.htm
3. http://ioc3.unesco.org/indotsunami/2803sumatra_eq/sumatra_eq.htm
4. http://www.stvincent.ac.uk/Resources/EarthSci/Tectonics/destructive.html
5. http://ccn1.net/POTD2/nias-island.jpg
6. http://www.cbc.ca/news/photogalleries/indonesia-quake2005/images/01_apCBCONLINE2_INDONE_7362920.jpg

Text:

"How do plates move?." Windows to the Univere. 21 August 2002. 27 Nov 2007 http://www.windows.ucar.edu/tour/link=/earth/interior/how_plates_move.html.

Louie, J.. "How do plates move?." Windows to the Univere. 9 October 1996. Nevada Seimological Laboratory. 27 Nov 2007 http://www.seismo.unr.edu/ftp/pub/louie/class/100/magnitude.html.

Prapanya , Naurant. "Quake kills at least 300 on Indonesin Island." CNN.com. 29 March 2005. CNN. 27 Nov 2007 http://edition.cnn.com/2005/WORLD/asiapcf/%2003/28/indonesia.quake/index.html.

"Earthquake Summary Poster." USGS.gov. 22 February 2007. USGS. 30 Nov 2007 http://earthquake.usgs.gov/eqcenter/eqarchives/poster/2005/20050328.php.

"Press Releases: Indonesia: Earthquake - March 2005, South Asia: Six months on - Suraid's commitment." ReliefWeb. 23 June 2005. ReliefWeb. 30 Nov 2007 http://www.reliefweb.int/rw/rwb.nsf/db900sid/LSGZ-6DRHBP?OpenDocument.

"News: Indonesia: Earthquake - Mar 2005, Indonesia to review post-tsunami rebuilding plan after." ReliefWeb. 30 March 2005. ReliefWeb. 30 Nov 2007 http://www.reliefweb.int/rw/RWB.NSF/db900SID/EVIU-6AYGAT?OpenDocument.

"Church World Service Emergency Response Program ." Church World Service Emergency Response. 28 March 2005. CWS. 30 Nov 2007 http://www.churchworldservice.org/news/tsunami/update-05-03-28.htm>.

Tarigan, Abdi R. . "ACT Dateline: Indonesia: One year after Nias quake." ReliefWeb. 27 March 2006. ReliefWeb. 30 Nov 2007 http://wwwnotes.reliefweb.int/w/rwb.nsf/480fa8736b88bbc3c12564f6004c8ad5/399eb0bf3b2cacafc125713e00519217?OpenDocument.