Quakes to Our Foundations

Water flooded the streets and infiltrated the second stories of buildings. Roads were scattered with overturned cars and collapsed buildings and homes. These scenes were a devastating reality for families living in the South Pacific. Last month, both Southeast Asian countries and the Pacific Islands were hit with four major earthquakes that triggered ensuing tsunamis, essentially wiping out the areas and killing thousands.

The first three quakes occurred within 70 minutes, followed by a fourth quake 22 hours aft The first quake was a 7.8 magnitude near Samoa. It was followed by a 7.7 earthquake that hit western Indonesian. A 7.1 magnitude earthquake then hit Sumatra, followed by the fourth quake that rocked the island of Vanuatu shortly afterwards.

When fourth-year economics major Ivan Juliano of Cal Poly Pomona came across the stories and pictures, panic and anxiety immediately surfaced. Having family currently living in the areas of the Philippines where the disaster hit, Juliano was worried for their safety.

“The recent disasters had me worried for a bit because I have family living there,” Juliano said. “My family frantically tried to get in contact with them when they were informed of the disaster.”

Fortunately, Juliano’s family had sustained only minimal damage and lost property. Juliano expressed his sympathies for families who were greatly impacted by the quakes and tsunamis.

“My heart goes out to them, and I hope they find out their relatives are well and are able to get into contact with them,” Juliano said.

The quakes triggered enormous waves that towered over buildings, which led to building- crushing tsunamis. Panic rose as families were separated. Following the massive earthquakes, Typhoon Ketsana devastated the area and destroyed infrastructure, making relief efforts difficult due to the large amounts of debris. Individuals are still struggling to remove rubble and to build shelter before the rainy season approaches.

Rustam Pakaya, the head of the Indonesian Health Ministry, worries that thousands might still be trapped under collapsed building and houses. Roads were destroyed, telephone lines went down and electricity was cut in certain areas. Families are still scavaging the sites in the hopes of locating missing family members.

Taitasi Fitiao, a resident of one of the coastal villages in the American Samoas, watched helplessly as her six-year-old daughter was carried out of her arms by the flood and drifted away. Her body was later found. The death toll has surpassed thousands, with many individuals still missing or in critical condition.

President Barack Obama declared the series of events a natural disaster, ensuring that federal aid would be available to help support the rescue and create recovery efforts in the area. Approximately 300 responders from the Federal Emergency Management Agency, the American Red Cross, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the Department of Health and Human Services, the U.S. Coast Guard and the U.S. Navy are assisting in the recovery efforts.

If you would like to donate to the recovery efforts, please contact: Hands On Disaster Response http://secure.ga1.org/05/hodr_south_pacific.