When 'the underground king dragon' gets angry...

Text and photos by Mulkan Salmona

JAMBI (JP): Earthquake! It always comes without warning when everybody is preoccupied with their daily lives or sound asleep, forgetting that it may happen any time and that it always comes with the mission to ruin and kill.

Earthquakes surprised the people of Flores island, East Nusatenggara, in December 1992; scarred the land of Liwa, Lampung in March 1994; split the land of Banyuwangi, East Java, in June 1994; and pitilessly wrecked havoc on the land of Kerinci, Jambi two weeks ago, on Oct. 7, 1995.

Within seconds the Jambi earthquake, measuring 7 on the Richter scale, damaged everything: the roads, which took years and a lot of money to build; rice fields, which had been the villager's livelihood for generations; houses, which had sheltered them from rain and heat and ensured them of a sound sleep at night; mosques, where they worshiped God.

A total of 81 people were killed, compared to 223 in Banyuwangi, 201 in Liwa, and about 2,000 in Flores.

Experts say the Kerinci earthquake was caused by a tectonic occurrence. Yet folklore says it happened because the king dragon living underground was disturbed in its sleep, woke up and angrily moved around.

Whatever the reason, within seconds the earthquake caused as much damage and pain as a war can cause in months. All that people took decades to built with sweat, tears and money was ruined in the blink of an eye. Plus they lost their loved ones.

For days after the quake people were still full of anger, tears, thirst and hunger. Yet, just as other quake victims around the world, the Kerinci people need to start rebuilding their lives and clear away the memory of the traumatic event.

"Let us not cry for this. Instead, let's us reflect on what we have done, because every natural disaster is closely related to human behavior," said Col. Muchdi Purwo Pranjono, chief of the area's military command.