Mentawai tsunami moved at 800 km per hour : Expert

Antara News, Wednesday, November 10, 2010 22:30 WIB

Padang, W Sumatra (ANTARA Bews) - Indonesian and Japanese tsunami experts have concluded that the tsunami that hit the Mentawai Islands recently had moved at a speed of 800 km per hour at sea.

"Based on the results of research conducted by tsunami experts from LIPI, Tokyo University and Hokkaido University, the tsunami at Maonai, Sabeuguggung, Purorougat, North Pagai, had moved at a speed of 800 kilometers per hour at sea and at 30-40 kilometers per hour after land fall ," an earthquake specialist of LIPI`s geotechnology division, , Eko Yulianto, said here Wednesday.

The tsunami surged over a distance of 100-250 meters inland , depending on the height of the tidal wave, he said.

"The height of the tidal wave that hit North Pagai was around six to seven meters," he said.

The tsunami in North Pagai occurred seven minutes after a magnitude- 7.2 earthquake had rocked the region on October 25, he said.

The epicenter of the earthquake lay close to the Mentawai Islands, he said.

Therefore, the information given to the local people that the tsunami would occur 30 minutes after the quake was incorrect, he said.

Eko advised anyone not to wait for an instruction from the Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency (BMKG) about what to do when an earthquake with the potential to cause tsunami happened. It was also unnecessary to measure the magnitude of the earthquake when an emergency situation occurred, he said.

"It is better for us to evacuate to the hills," he said.

The earthquake that shook the Mentawai Islands was recorded to measure 7.2 on the Richter Scale and triggered a tsunami on Monday (Oct 25) at 09.42 p.m. local time.

The epicenter of the earthquake lay at 3.61 degrees Southern Latitude and 99.93 degrees Eastern Longitude at a depth of 10 kilometers below sea level.

The epicenter of the earthquake was located 78 kilometers southwest of South Pagai, Mentawai, West Sumatra, 102 kilometers southwest of North Pagai, Mentawai, West Sumatra, 158 kilometers Southeast of Sipora, Mentawai, West Sumatra, 174 kilometers Southwest of Mukomuko, Bengkulu, and 817 kilometers Northwest the Jakarta Bay.

Students propose new ideas to conserve sea life

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta | Mon, 11/08/2010 9:21 AM

Three high school student groups won a competition out of 112 teams from across the nation in the 5th Young Innovation Contest with proposals to develop eco-tourism in their respective hometowns.

On Saturday, the contest organizer, Indonesia Institute of Sciences (LIPI) named Ni Wayan Surya Darmayanti, AA Pillar Dy Kusuma and AA Istri Intan Yuniari from state high school SMAN 4 Denpasar, Bali, as the first winners of the contest.

The team highlighted the synergy between local people and tourists in preserving the coral reef ecosystem at Pemuteran village, Singaraja, Bali.

The team said the local people, with their long-rooted traditions like puppet play, could have an important role in preserving local reefs, while the tourists might contribute to the environment through coral reef revitalization program using Biorock, a widely known method to grow coral reef using mineral and electric current.

A Makassar high school team won second prize with their idea to develop tourism on little-known Gusung Island, South Sulawesi.

Geby Oktavia Sari, Fitriyah Dewi Haramaeni and Muh. Amran Permana Putra R. from SMAN 11 Makasar senior high school propose to develop educational tourism.

“Education about coral reef conservation would be an added value for tourism on the island,” Geby said. She said young people would be the main target of the tourism package.

This was expected to bring local people economic and social benefits.

Geby said the government should help the island by building infrastructure like piers and toilets.

A team from Wakatobi regency which recently became famous for its coastal beauty, came in third, also with an eco-tourism concept.

Dewi Sartika, Nining Hariani Ode, and Hasdiman Aludin from SMAN 1 Wangi-Wangi, Wakatobi, proposed to develop Hoga Island in Kaledupa district in Southeast Sulawesi.

Suharsono, the chairman of Oceanograhy Research Center at the institute, said the jury evaluated the papers on originality, the extent of research into the problems, and the way ideas were presented.

Suharsono said the contest was aimed at raising young people’s awareness to use what was available in their environment, to do their best to help preserve nature.

“Coral reefs are the entry point for us to invite them to love the seas,” he said.

LIPI’s data shows that most of the coral reef ecosystems in the country are damaged with only around 30 percent of the total being in a very good or good condition. (lnd)

Kiluan Bay: Dolphins and sightseeing

The Jakarta Post, Ani Suswantoro, Contributor, Kiluan, Lampung | Sun, 11/07/2010

The tail of a dolphin is seen in Kiluan Bay.
At the right moment and spot, schools of dolphins
can be seen around the bay. JP/Ani Suswantoro

A few hours away from its capital of Bandarlampung, Lampung province hosts a wide range of tourist destinations.

Tourists have many choices of places to visit. They can visit an elephant training site in Way Kambas where they can travel on top of the pachyderm or visit Bukit Barisan National Park for a visual feast.

If you like the sea, you can go to Tanjung Setia Beach where you can also enjoy the breezes of the Sunda Strait while watching the majesty of Mount Krakatau (but not now though, as the nearby Mount Anak Krakatau is showing signs of volcanic activity).

Another interesting site is Kiluan Bay, where tourist can get a breathtaking sight of wild dolphins swimming and jumping around the bay. Pioneer of the tourism project is ecotourism foundation Cikal, chaired by Riko Stefanus which has been instrumental in introducing the site to the outside world.

Before the establishment of Cikal in 2005, Kiluan was an isolated area.

“Were it not for Pak Riko’s work, we would not have seen any tourists here,” Ketut, 40, a Balinese living in Kiluan, said.

In 2007, a visit by Lampung’s Governor to the location has resulted in the renovation of public facilities, including school buildings. The following year, a wide road was built allowing cars to access the remote place.

An ojek brings visitors through a coconut
plantation to Kiluan Bay. JP/Ani Suswantoro

Kiluan Bay offers extraordinary attractions for visitors. People have a chance to see dolphins swimming and jumping in the bay. Tourists can also watch turtles laying eggs on the beach.

To attract more visitors, local people have also included water sports on the list of attractions, combining recreation and natural beauty. It’s a mixture of the sea with green hills that are teeming with wild animals.

“We can see dolphins all year round, although they are more plentiful from June to July,” Riko said.

Green sea turtles (Chelonia Mydas) and Hawksbill turtles (Eretmochelys imbricate) can still found breeding around the beach there, despite earlier times when they were hunted.

Kiluan can be reached by car from Bandar Lampung. Contact Cikal for transportation arrangement. If you want to reach it by sea, you can take a boat from the Lempasing fish auction center in Panjang, Bandar Lampung.

Alternatively, you can rent a car. Please ensure that the driver and the vehicle are in very good condition as the roads connecting Padang Cermin subdistrict and Kiluan Bay are quite challenging.

The road from Bandar Lampung to Padang Cermin is relatively smooth. When you pass the Hanura subdistrict, you can sample the spicy Pindang Kepala Simba fish soup at Ika Restaurant, which is located 50 meters before the Hanura traditional market.

The route from Padang Cermin to Bawang Village is accessible by four-wheel drive. The road is unpredictable — smooth stretches followed by spots of deep puddles.

There are three alternatives when you depart from Bawang Village. If you are adventurous and consider yourself a skilled driver, you may continue to Kiluan Bay. Otherwise you might hire a motorcycle taxi, or walk and leave the vehicle at Bawang.

The long walk can provide you with picturesque pastoral scenes of traditional Lampung houses, coconut trees, green rice fields, cocoa, pepper and coffee plantations.

Bahar, 30, drives his boat to take visitors around
the water of Kiluan Bay to watch dolphins. Mount Anak
Krakatau is seen in the horizon. — JP/Ani Suswantoro

The last five kilometers from Bawang to Kiluan are partly paved with gravel, dirt, and concrete and will really test your driving skill. Parts of the road are steep and often grow muddy or slippery after the rain. You can find a narrow wooden bridge barely passable by a vehicle and a broken bridge that will force you cross a small brook.

The small passage has a sharp turn so drivers should check the direction before going ahead, otherwise their cars could flip over.

“The road to Kiluan will be repaired this year as soon as funds from the provincial administration are available,” said Yaman Aziz from the Lampung’s cultural and tourism office.

In Kiluan, visitors can rent a boat for Rp 250,000 (US$28) for a trip to watch dolphins, visit white sandy beaches or stop by some islands. Most boats are small and can carry only three passengers.

There two species of dolphin in Kiluan Bay: spinner dolphins (Stenella longirostris) and common bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops Truncattus). They live in warm tropical waters, such as the Indian Ocean, and have chosen Kiluan Bay as a resting point between Semaka to Lampung Bay.

Silhouettes of three people are seen in Kiluan
Bay as the light from the sunset offers a picturesque
scene. — JP/Ani Suswantoro

Dozens — sometimes hundreds — of dolphins surface and frolic at dawn or when the days are cloudy, so watch for them in the early morning. People can stay at cottage for Rp 250,000 a night, while a homestay will cost Rp 100,000. Meals are provided by the owner for Rp 15,000 per person.

I stayed at the Cikal base camp, a simple house nestled right in front of Kiluan Bay. Behind the camp is a hill — home to siamangs (Symphalangus syndactylus), an arboreal , black furred gibbons.

If you’re lucky, you can hear them exchange calls in the morning. Honey bears (Helarctos malayanus), Brahminy kites (Haliastur indus) and various songbirds also inhabit the hilly forest.

Unfortunately, floating trash spoils part of Kiluan’s beauty.

“Yes, some people litter on the beach, but trash also comes from cities along the coast of Lampung Bay and from the open water, carried by the western wind,” Yaman said.

“The paradox with the trash is, some fish, like dolphinfish (Coryphaena hippurus) and red snappers love to hide under it,” Riko said.

“I think the root of the trash issue can be found in our culture and even deeper in the gears of industrial globalization. Thus, it requires strong initiatives to hit the subliminal thinking of people. I hope ecotourism in Kiluan would have positive outcomes,” said Gregory Simkiss, a 22-years-old American tourist.

Kiluan Bay, the once-isolated and pristine region, is now exposed. Like two sides of a coin, there are blessings and curses. We hope the region gets the blessing! As such, Kiluan’s natural richness is preserved.

— Photos by Ani Suswantoro