Disaster strikes twice

Disaster strikes twice

A powerful earthquake measuring 8.7 on the Richter scale jolted the island of Nias at 11:10 p.m. on March 28, when most of its inhabitants were in bed.

Residents rushed out of their homes, and North Sumatra again rang with the cries of its shocked and frightened people.

The quake came only three months after the Dec. 26 disaster in Nanggroe Aceh Darussalam, where relief efforts are now moving into long-term rehabilitation programs.

This time, the area worst hit by the disaster was Gunung Sitoli on Nias, where National Police, the Indonesian Military and international relief workers rushed to begin immediate evacuation, rescue and recovery efforts.

Although no tsunami was generated by the quake, it has leveled some parts of Nias and neighboring Simeuleu Island.

Man may be powerless in the face of such catastrophes that bring total destruction within mere minutes. But just as quickly, the people of Nias, with the aid of Indonesians and foreigners alike, have begun to pick up the pieces and rebuild. -- JP

Photo A - B

Antara/Munawar Mandailing

Monday's quake left a church in Gunung Sitoli canting toward the ground after it shook Nias Island.

The dome of a local mosque rises from the rubble of the structure, which fell in on itself from the force of the quake.

Photo C

A lone police officer looks down at a chasm in a road, caused when sections of the earth rose and fell.

Photo D

AP/Suzanne Plunkett

A father and his three sons walk through the ruins of what was once their neighborhood.

Photo E

Reuters/Darren Whiteside

Local authorities rush an injured woman from a helicopter to a waiting ambulance, using a mattress as a substitute stretcher. Evacuation efforts began almost immediately after the quake hit.

Photo F

Antara/Munawar Mandailing

Flattened houses and fractured roads tell the tale of devastation left behind by the Nias quake.

Photo G

Reuters/Crack Palinggi

Unheeding of the danger hanging overhead, residents travel down a relatively undamaged road.

Photo H

Reuters/Luis Enrique Ascui

Workers upright a fallen electricity pole to restore power in Gunung Sitoli.

Photo I

AP/Suzanne Plunkett

A shopkeeper is open for business, and his customers arrive to buy food and supplies beneath an awning that sags precariously.

Photo J

AP/Suzanne Plunkett

Another shop is not so lucky: Residents loot goods from a grocery and electronics store that has caved in from the quake.