>> Surfisti di Ostia salvi ad Hikkadua grazie alla tavola da surf
"Ma poi i cingalesi ci hanno nutrito, non dimentichiamoli"
OSTIA - Sono tanti i surfisti italiani che abitualmente surfano le onde dello Sri Lanka. Negli ultimi anni infatti, per via delle onde buone, del clima e del grande spirito di accoglienza del popolo cingalese, il numero dei surfisti italiani che hanno scelto lo Sri Lanka sono aumentate notevolmente.
E' stato grazie all'abilità nel domare il mare con una tavola ai piedi che un gruppo di turisti romani, di professione bagnini sul litorale di Ostia, è riuscito infatti a sopravvivere allo tsunami. "E' stato mostruoso - ha raccontato uno di loro, Marco Tartaglia - eravamo sul surf quando si è alzato il mare di 6 metri. Sono riuscito a salvare un cingalese che stava annaspando a nuoto e che stava tirando giù anche a me, e poco dopo ho ritrovato anche la mia ragazza. Ci siamo salvati cavalcando le onde, rimanendo a largo quasi per un'ora finché il mare non si è ritirato".
La piccola comitiva ha fatto ritorno oggi all'aeroporto di Fiumicino con un volo della protezione civile da Ikkadua, nello Sri Lanka, dove si era recata per passare qualche giorno di vacanza. "Quando siamo tornati a riva - hanno raccontato alla folla di cronisti che li aspettava nello scalo romano - a terra era la distruzione totale: non si può descrivere la scena del treno rovesciato dal maremoto, morti dappertutto. Era il giorno di mercato: l'onda ha spazzato via persone e cose".
Eppure, malgrado tanta disperazione e distruzione, la gente dello Sri Lanka ha dato una grande lezione di generosità e dignità. "Il popolo cingalese, che ha meno di noi - hanno ricordato i surfisti - ha compiuto gesti incredibili per noi: ci ha aiutato dandoci cibo, ospitalità in collina. Non dimentichiamoli, dobbiamo aiutarli".
Un sentimento di gratitudine condiviso dagli altri italiani rientrati oggi a Fiumicino. "Aiutiamo i cingalesi - ha ribadito un altro superstite, Roberto Ferrante, di Roma - sono un popolo stupendo, ci hanno aiutato in tanti modi nonostante la tragedia che li ha colpiti".
Sottoscrizione “Un aiuto subito” per le popolazioni dell'Asia
Il TG5 e il CORRIERE DELLA SERA
http://www.tg5.it/altre_notizie/schede/scheda_041227201143.shtml
SURFISTA INGLESE SOPRAVVISSUTO A LOHIFUSHI (MALDIVE)
UK surfer survived 6 foot surge at Lohifushi when the tsunami hit
Mike Rigg, 33, a construction worker from the Wirral near Liverpool, UK, was surfing at the resort of Lohifushi when the tsunami hit. He said there was a six-feet-high surge in the waves and he was dragged along the edge of a powerful current, though he managed to stay out of the worst of it.
Finally he reached an area where he could stand and fought his way to shore. He watched two scuba divers being rescued by a boat after being dragged by a current, and saw another motorboat unable at full power to make any headway against a violent surge of water rushing past the island.
Nicola Whiteford, 35, a structural engineer from London, said guests at Lohifushi huddled around the bar area, which was the only major part of the island that stayed consistently above water. “The frightening thing was that before each wave, the lagoon emptied itself out and you could see the coral. So we knew another one was coming,” she said.
Ms Whiteford said that for hours after the disaster, survivors didn’t know what had caused the tsunami or what to expect, because radio communications were patchy and power cuts meant television wasn’t working.
(Tsunami, Thailandia 26 dicembre 2004)
MAREMOTO/ DESTINAZIONI SURF COLPITE
Due to the quake’s proximity to prime surfing locations in that part of the world, the surf community’s familiarity with the area and its people, and because of the high number of surfers that are known to frequent many of the countries affected, the surf world has been collectively holding its breath, waiting for more news of the effects of this immense natural disaster.
Early reports suggest that many areas most familiar to surfers seem to have been mercifully spared from large scale destruction and massive loss of life. Bali, in southern Indonesia has suffered no ill effects from the earthquake and the wave. The Mentawais, an area which many feared could have been extremely hard hit due to its proximity to the epicenter, apparently also has been mostly spared.
“The Mentawais and Padang appear to have made it through fine,” said Anthony Marcotti of Sariana Koat Mentawai, a boat charter service which operates extensively throughout the region. “All our trips are still on schedule and accounted for, and I spoke with a friend of mine who was in the Playgrounds area when this went down, and he told me the water level just got really high and then really low. Extreme highs and lows that went in and out a few times in about an hour, but that’s about it.” Playgrounds, which is located towards the northern end of the island chain on Siberut is closer to the epicenter than most of the other well known breaks in the Mentawais.
Chris Scurrah, owner and operator of Sumatran Surfariis, another boat trip service operating in the Mentawais, also checked in. Scurrah was actually out among the islands on his vessel Asia during the quake, and apparently felt no direct effects. On Sunday the 26th he did however, notice strange tidal and ocean conditions, as well as “the mouth of the little bay on Kandui charging like a raging river,” but was not aware of the devastating quake until roughly 32 hours after it took place when he learned of it from a news report on his shipboard radio. Only then did he connect the unusual conditions he witnessed to the massive quake. After returning to Padang, Chris reported that as of 2 pm on Tuesday the 28th, “there is still strange water movements, the tides are still coming up and down within an hour, there is strange movements in the river, and the ocean is still adjusting,” but he also reports that there has been no damage to any of the vessels in the Padang harbor, or loss of life.
Surf Aid International commented as well, and confirmed reports that tsunami conditions did not affect areas in the Mentawais where their people were located. Andrew Griffiths, co-founder and CEO of Surf Aid said that “our people in the field in the village of Katiet, which is near Lance’s Right, reported that they didn’t even feel the earthquake or notice anything really out of the ordinary.”
Good news for those concerned that the Mentawais and its people may have been wiped out completely. And while these reports are certainly heartening and seem to indicate the island chain escaped mostly unscathed, they by no means confirm fully that there has been no loss of life or property in the region.
Farther north in Indonesia, reports from Nias and Simeulu are suggesting there has been some property damage, ocean surges, and perhaps loss of life. However, unconfirmed second hand accounts of what occurred seem to indicate that this area may have been spared--it is simple to early to tell. While the remote nature of these islands and lack of solid information make it hard to confirm exactly what the situation is, Dr. Jose Borrero, a surfer and a PHD who is an Assistant Research Professor at the University of Southern California and specializes in tsunamis and coastal engineering says it makes sense that these islands also would have escaped bearing the full brunt of the tsunami’s power as did their more southern Mentawai neighbors. This is because, like the Mentawais, they also lie to the south of the quake’s epicenter. Surprising, especially considering the proximity of these islands to both the starting point of the quake and to Aceh where the death tolls and destruction from the tsunami have been catastrophic and most severe. Borrero explains: “Tsunamis radiate energy side to side, perpendicular to the direction of the fault line. This fault ruptured from south to north, and while areas to the south certainly would, and did see some effects, not much energy would have been pushed down that way. Instead, the tsunami radiated out to the east and west of the fault, and if you look at a map those were the areas hardest hit.” Borrero says this explains why Aceh and places as far as Somalia were affected, while areas to the south in Indonesia were left relatively unscathed.
In other areas of the globe linked to the surf world the news was not as good. The Andamans, Nicobars, and Maldives, three remote islands chains known as exotic surf travel destinations were all affected. The Andamans and Nicobars, which lay to the north of the epicenter in the Bay of Bengal, and rest directly on the fault along which the quake ruptured, have been cut off from communication. In the Maldives, a nation made up of roughly 1200 tiny islands located to the west of the quake zone in the Indian Ocean, the disaster has been keenly felt. “On Male Island there has been a lot of water damage to houses, boats in the harbor, etcetera,” said Ian Lyons from Atoll Travels, a surf charter business operating in the Maldives. “The tourist islands have received varied degrees of damage, some of it severe, some not too bad. The main surf islands of Dhonveli and Lohifushi sustained quite a lot of damage, although the full extent won’t be known for a few days, and Club Kani, which is near Lohifushi, lost about 90% of its over water bungalows. Paradise Island, just to the south of Dhonveli, was also heavily damaged. The islands along the eastern fringe of the central and southern atolls were the worst affected, while the northern islands weren’t really hit that badly.” Loss of life in the Maldives has been relatively small at only about 50 confirmed dead, when compared to the numbers coming in from places like Northern Sumatra and Sri Lanka, but the tiny island nation will surely suffer from the loss of tourist facilities and tourist dollars, as its economy relies heavily on visitors.
In Sri Lanka, an emerging surf destination known for its popularity with Israeli surfers, and its mid-sized right points, the death tolls have been enormous, with at least 23,000 confirmed dead. It was feared that one British family of five may have been killed while surfing near the resort of Hikkaduwa, but Wesley Baker, the managing director of Pure Vacations, the firm through which the family booked their trip, confirmed that they have been accounted for and are safe.
In regard to surfer related deaths in all the affected areas, so far, no surf tour operators have reported losses. This is due to a variety of reasons, the greatest perhaps being that Southeast Asia is not in season right now as a surf destination.With most of the Mentawai and Maldives boat fleet vessels in harbor or dry dock for the off season, and few surfers traveling through the area, it seems the surf world may have fortunately slipped through the cracks of this nearly unimaginable natural disaster and appalling loss of life. “This could have been much different had the quake occurred during the peak surfing season for Indonesia and the Maldives,” said Henry Morales of Wave Hunters in a press release. “Nonetheless, thousands of souls have perished in the catastrophe, and we are humbled by the force of mother-nature. We are grateful for all the surfers who were spared, either by timing or their own good fortune.” However, with news reports trickling in on an hourly basis, and the death toll at over 100,000, it is not a stretch to suggest that some surfers may have perished, especially in Sri Lanka. A BBC report said an Australian surfer witnessed "30 to 40 surfers out at Galle in Sri Lanka disappear." It should be noted this account is unconfirmed at this point.
The good fortune the surf community has experienced thus far is at least a flicker of positive news amidst a massive wave of destruction. Commenting on the broader scale of the calamity, Surf Aid’s Andrew Griffiths had this to say. “The tragedy is that this sort of event only further hinders development and exacerbates poverty problems in a part of the world already struggling with those issues. Until we can get them built up and properly modernized, these areas will continue to be susceptible to disasters of this magnitude and this sort of horrendous loss of life.”
onetravels amd everyone else.
To give everyone the best update possible - the northern area of the Mentawai Islands off the south end of Siberut did not experience any dramatic problems. I spoke with a good friend of mine who is living on an island over there and he told me firsthand, where he was, the water level got extremely high, then low, high, then low in the course of an hour but that was the extent of it. He didn't know how other areas fared but Padang and its surrounding area including all of the surf charter boats harbored there were not impacted at all.
As far as Bali goes, it's nowhere near the epicenter and was not in harms way for this. I have heard that the north tip of Nias suffered some flooding but if you've been to this area of the world you know how close the people live in proximity to the ocean and when something like this occurs it can be disastrous.
On another note, I'm glad you enjoyed the Wave of Compassion show onetravels and you appreciated the message it stressed. My personal hope is that people decide to help this region via SurfAid or any other organization out of a sincere desire to help give back - you would be absolutely amazed how much a few dollars can go over there to help these people.
I guess my point is, the Mentawai's appear to have got lucky - the kids you saw in the show are ok - and Bali is not even close to being in danger. The only problem I foresee is that a lot of surf charter boats head north to Singapore and Thailand in the off season; those are the boats we're worried about and all of our best go out to the owners and crews and their families who may or may not be impacted by this.
It's really great to see everyone's concern on this bb - it's an inspiration to see that you are positive and express a willingness to help people you don't know and that live on the other side of the world.
Masura bagata, Anthony
ALTRE TESTIMONIANZE:
Anna Serafino è in Thailandia, e ha spiegato al telefono, ai suoi familiari, quanto accaduto. Ma ci sono anche le testimonianze dei turisti rientrati in Italia, quelli che la tragedia l'hanno scampata e quelli che l'hanno toccata con mano. "Eravamo a letto, erano passate le 9 - raccontano Massimo Giardi ed Elena Baldi, di Follonica, che erano nella zona di Dehikwala, atterrati stanotte a Fiumicino - abbiamo sentito rumori, urla, in un minuto la stanza si è riempita d'acqua". I due si sono gettati dalla finestra, si sono aggrappati alle palme: "Sotto di noi la furia dell'acqua portava via tutto. Abbiamo visto tantissimi morti".
La situazione, hanno raccontato i turisti italiani, è disastrosa in tutto il sud-est del paese dove ci sono ancora zone isolate, ma anche nella parte a sud della capitale, Colombo, sul lato nord dell'isola, nella parte compresa tra Matara City e Galle. E' a Matara che è morta una donna, Raffaella Piva, mentre a Galle ci sarebbero diversi italiani isolati.
"E' stato un disastro" raccontano a Fiumicino Ferdinando e Graziella Tomasi, tornati da Negombo. "Eravamo al ristorante e un muro d'acqua ci si è alzato all'improvviso davanti, le barche sono volate sulla spiaggia e trenta capanne di pescatori sono state distrutte in meno di un minuto".
Drammatico l'appello che Barbara, una donna italiana che vive a Hikkaduwa, nello Sri Lanka, ha lanciato per telefono alle autorità italiane: "Dateci una mano, veniteci a prendere, siamo completamente isolati". La donna, che ha un ristorante a Galle, ha parlato di decine di italiani bloccati, fra i quali anche una donna incinta, e ha descritto la situazione nel sud dell'isola: "Non esiste più la strada costiera, Galle e Matara sono città fantasma, bruciano i cadaveri in strada per evitare epidemie. Qui a Hikkaduwa siamo isolati, senza benzina, tra un po' anche senza cibo. E' terribile". Barbara ha raccontato che tutta la zona turistica dello Sri Lanka, a sud di Colombo, è stata investita da due onde violentissime. "Tutto quello che era sul mare, tranne ciò che era costruito in cemento, non c'è più"
Earthquake/Tsunamis believed to have obliterated Nias.
Surfersvillage Global Surf News, 26 December 2004: - - The world's most powerful earthquake in 40 years struck deep under the Indian Ocean off the west coast of Sumatra on Sunday, triggering tidal waves up to 30 feet high that obliterated villages and seaside resorts in six countries across southern Asia. So far 10,000 people are confirmed killed in the devastation, and the death toll is expected to rise.
Tourists, fishermen, homes and cars were swept away by walls of water that rolled across the Bay of Bengal, unleashed by the 8.9-magnitude earthquake. The tsunami waves barreled nearly 3,000 miles across the ocean to Africa, where at least nine people were killed in Somalia, witnesses said. At least 4,185 were killed in Indonesia, the country's health ministry said.
Early reports indicate the island of Nias, located very close to the epicenter of the earthquake, received severe damage, and was described as being the "Ground Zero" of this disaster. Reports state hotels, and houses have completely disappeared as the tsunamis swept across the island. Untold numbers of people are believed dead or disappeared. It is reasonable therefore to consider some surfers will be amongst the dead and injured.
The Maldives also have been swept by the Tsunamis, with Male under 4 feet of water, and other islands having been completely submerged by the wave as it passed over the islands. Numbers of the dead and disappeared are not known as yet. Again it may be that surfers will be amongst the dead, disappeared, and injured.
In Sri Lanka, 1,000 miles west of the epicenter, more than 3,000 people were killed, the country's top police official said; that number, however, does not include the 1,500 deaths reported by rebels who control part of the country.
Elsewhere, about 2,300 were reported dead along the southern coasts of India, at least 289 in Thailand, 42 in Malaysia and two in Bangladesh.
"All the planet is vibrating" from the quake, said Enzo Boschi, the head of Italy's National Geophysics Institute. Speaking on SKY TG24 TV, Boschi said the quake even disturbed the Earth's rotation.
The U.S. Geological Survey measured the quake at a magnitude of 8.9. Geophysicist Julie Martinez said it was the world's fifth-largest since 1900 and the largest since a 9.2 temblor hit Prince William Sound Alaska in 1964.
The epicenter was located 155 miles south-southeast of Banda Aceh, the capital of Aceh province on Sumatra, and six miles under the seabed of theIndian Ocean. There were at least a half-dozen powerful aftershocks, ranging in magnitude from almost 6 and 7.3.
On Sumatra, the quake destroyed dozens of buildings — but as elsewhere, it was the wall of water that followed that caused the most deaths and devastation.
The above report was filed at approximately 18h30 GMT 26 December 2004, and it should be kept in mind detailed information is still being gathered. This is an enormous disaster of biblical proportions, and it may well be several days before accurate information is avialbale. Communications have suffered a severe blow, so again it may be some time before news of any surfers comes to hand.
Finally for those who do not already know, a tsunami is not a wave that can be surfed, either in the open ocean, or near the shore.
More information as it relates to surfers, will be posted as it comes to hand.
Surfersvillage extends their condolences to the relatives, friends, and loved ones. of all those dead, disappeared, or injured.
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