Experiencing an Earthquake at 3,276 Meters

KOMPAS/IQBAL BASYARI

An officer passes out snacks to hikers during an evacuation on Monday (30/7/2018) as they arrive at the Bawak Nao post, Mount Rinjani, West Nusa Tenggara. Hundreds of hikers, who were trapped on Mount Rinjani when an earthquake struck on Sunday, were successfully evacuated in stages.

Azka Firman was gasping as he arrived at the Bawak Nao post in Sajan village, Sembalun district, East Lombok, West Nusa Tenggara (NTB) at around 3 p.m. on Monday (30/7/2018). The 19-year-old hiker took 30 seconds just to say, “Hold on a second. I’m still in shock.”

The moment he and his seven friends arrived back in the village, a number of journalists approached Azka, asking about his experience of surviving the 6.4-magnitude earthquake on Sunday morning (29/7) atop Mt. Rinjani. “It’s hard to say. It was definitely traumatizing,” he said, gasping for breath.

Azka did not say much more, other than that he was relieved to be among the 543 hikers who were rescued on Monday from the 4,726-meter mountain. Azka joined dozens of other hikers and walked for seven hours to descend from Lake Segara Anak to the evacuation post at the foot of the mountain.

Azka said the descent was among the most unforgettable experiences of his life. Hikers tried to descend the mountain as rapidly as they could, as they were racing against time and were extremely worried that aftershocks could cut off their route. “Of the five hiking trails [on Mt. Rinjani], only one remains passable. I had to walk fast to get through the disaster-prone spots,” he said.

The route that Azka took was the only way to descend Mt. Rinjani, as landslides had closed the other four routes. “At first, we had planned to go down to Senaru, but a footbridge on that route had been destroyed by a landslide,” he said.

He said that he prayed non-stop during his descent. He walked extra-carefully for fear of sudden landslides.

He added that he was also afraid that he might become trapped by an aftershock, as 43 aftershocks had occurred within the first hour since the earthquake on Sunday morning. The largest aftershock lasted from 7:47 a.m. to 8:09 a.m. and was magnitude 5.7.

When the first earthquake hit, Azka said that he was drawing some water from Lake Segara Anak. He was planning to boil the water and make hot beverages against the cold on Rinjani. “The earthquake was so strong. The water on the lake sloshed around and some of the cliffs collapsed,” he said.

After the earthquake, he and his friends cancelled their plans to hike to Rinjani’s peak. The group had started their hike on Wednesday (25/7) and planned to camp for two nights by Lake Segara Anak and then continue their journey to the peak. However, after spending only a night by the lake, the group had to cancel their plans, as the Mount Rinjani National Park (TNGR) management ordered all hikers to descend from the mountain. “This is my first time experiencing an earthquake on a mountain. I’m certainly not looking to have another one,” said Azka.

Relieved hugs

Hiking guide Muslihadi, 30, was leading 14 Thai tourists on the mountain when the earthquake occurred. Once the tremors had subsided, he immediately led his group down the mountain. The

moment they reached the evacuation post, one of the hikers embraced him. “[They said] it was to thank me for taking them all to safety,” he said.

It was not easy to be a guide in such an unusual situation. In normal conditions, guides often chat with hikers. During the disaster, however, everyone was urged to stay alert and move quickly amid the fear of aftershocks. After news spread that a hiker from Makassar was hit and killed by a boulder, everyone grew increasingly uncomfortable. “We actually passed the victim who was killed,” Muslihadi said.

Hiking guides and rescuers tried their best to keep hikers calm while making their descent from Lake Segara Anak as quickly as possible. Hikers were encouraged constantly to quicken their pace while they were guided down the safest route.

As a result, the hikers completed the descent, which usually takes 12 hours, in a mere six hours. Muslihadi said it was important for all guides to descend quickly to guide foreign hikers successfully. Many hikers on the mountain that day were from abroad.

Maj. Arifianto, the deputy chief of the East Lombok earthquake mitigation task force, said that 184 rescuers from the military, the police, the TNGR management and volunteers were deployed in the rescue operation. They had been climbing the hiking trails since Sunday to inform hikers that the hiking trails on Mt. Rinjani had been temporarily closed and all hikers had been ordered to descend.

The rescue team also took motorcycles and helicopters to take supplies to hikers, delivering the supplies to climbing posts along the trails. During the 12-hour evacuation on Monday from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m., 543 individuals were rescued, including 189 foreign hikers, 173 Indonesian hikers, 31 guides and 150 porters.

A hiking group of six still remains at Lake Segara Anak, as the hikers were too weak to descend the mountain. The group comprises three women hikers from Jakarta, one guide and two porters. Furthermore, the body of the victim killed in the earthquake has yet to be recovered.

“The plan is to rescue the six hikers using a helicopter on Tuesday,” said Arifianto.