Updated: March 13, 2022 – The Aftermath of Palu
Estimated reading time: 7 minutes
On my business trip, finally I met Fian for the first time. Eager to learn the aftermath of Palu, I soon landed at Mutiara SIS Al-Jufrie Airport in Palu, Central Sulawesi, Indonesia, with no delay. Although positive Covid-19 cases have been low for the past few weeks, there are still government restrictions on testing and screening, which had a significant impact on the way we live our lives and on how we travel within Indonesia.
‘Fian, OMG, this curry chicken taste excellent and it is very spicy.’
‘So far, this is the best cooking I can find around here,’ Fian responded.
During that lovely meal, I actually drank the whole scrumptious curry chicken out of the bowl, ended with a silent, polite burp—a sign of great satisfaction. And Fian smiled back at me graciously.
We continued our journey to clients’ farms after lunch, as Fian described his experience in the aftermath of Palu during the September 28, 2018 disastrous earthquake that has taken thousands of lives, turning a captivating city into a hell on earth.
Palu is the in central of province Sulawesi, which lies on the fault line. The magnitude of 7.5 magnitude earthquake, stroke at 6.02 pm local time. Over the next 30 minutes, 3 tsunami waves amplified and concentrated by the narrow bay with the population of 330,000 people.
The earthquake was to believe has caused the phenomenon called liquefaction, where pressure forces the groundwater onto the surface, turning solid ground into a river of mud. Destroying the entire neighbourhood, burying resident alive. Early warning system failed in math, because devices monitoring the sea level were not working or too far away. Therefore, Palu was in total shut down—darkness shadowed the entire city.
This rare phenomenon in the aftermath of Palu has displaced 78,000 people. Because of that, survivor in remote places were waiting for clean water and food to arrive. The village was on a ground level and it was all pulverized. Vehicles tossed up. Buildings are gone. Shredded. Homeware, fences, animals—It all churned and thrust upward. The survivors were busy combing through the long stretch of destruction, looking for their loved ones, and so for the next one year, the crumbled city smells of unseen death. It’s encountering seeps into everything. Almost everyone has a sad story to tell. Terrible memories which can’t easily sweep away.
Unfortunately, Palu is vulnerable to liquefaction, sits on a slit of deposit carrying down from the river and the incident completely buried much of the neighbourhood.
During the evening hours, we stopped by Puncak Salena for a breathtaking view of the whole Palu City, 1500 meters above sea level. This is a place where paragliding activities take place.
‘Daniel, this is where I slept for nights after the earthquake. It displaced or destroyed houses. Therefore, sleeping in an open area makes me feel more secure and every ready to escape and run.’ Explained in his deep Bugis accent as I gazed across the Palu Bay with admiration of how Mother Nature can bring wonders and disasters to the Earth with her undiluted pleasure.
The people of Palu will never forget the September 28, 2018, because it was such a broken place in the aftermath of Palu. This is what it left to hope for—a chance to standup and rebuild for the locals. So, when you come to a place like this, you can feel the emotion that the locals had been through. Finally, the impact of the earthquake on mental health was enormous and unimaginably massive in people’s lives. By now is all a memory of the past—Palu.
‘Love opens us, as an earthquake opens the earth.’—Caroline Lea.
So I hope you have enjoyed this blog. If you want me to write about any other topics about Indonesia, drop me a comment below. In case you’ve missed my other blogs, please click on the menu ‘Blog’ on the top right corner.
#GreatPlace #Palu #SulawesiTengah #CentralSulawesi #Earthquake #Tsunami #PrayForPalu #Liquefaction #Travel #Indonesia #Author #Writing #VeterinarianIndonesia #Vetpreneur #LifeStyle #InnerVoice #InnerJiva
Similarly, here are some TikTok Videos during my Palu trip:
- What is Beyond Teamwork? Concept of Synergy - July 22, 2023
- New Awakening of Nusantara Indonesia’s Future Capital - March 28, 2022
- The Spectacular Lake Toba - March 16, 2022
I had no idea of the destruction. I lived thru 2 California earthquakes and it was scary. Not having the warning sirens working and being taken by surprise with the Tsunami, I do not have words to express my sorrow for all the lives that are no longer with us.
I can not imagine being part of such a terrifying experience. These people are so strong and it is humbling to see them rebuild after such a devastation.
I cant imagine that experience, thanks for sharing giving us information about it. I havent been to Palu and it looks like a beautiful place to visit.
How devastating for the residents to lose family and livelihood in the blink of an eye…it makes one sit back and give thanks to where we are in the world…
Having lived in a seismic region and remembering significant earthquakes, I can see how terrifying it was for the people of Palu to go through a major natural disaster. It is good to see resilience and reconstruction, lives going back to normal.
This is a great place!
Absolutely devastating. So terrifying and painful.