The Mud Has Displaced Our Village

KOMPAS/BAHANA PATRIA GUPTA

The condition of Jono Oge Village in Sigi Biromaru District, Sigi Regency, Central Sulawesi, which was damaged by the earthquake on Thursday (04/10/2018). The earthquake caused settlements in the area to have been dragged by 1 kilometer away and several others were covered by mud-flow. The photo was taken from the Mi17 V5 helicopter owned by Squadron 31/Serbu Puspenerbad, which was distributing aid to earthquake victims.

The recent powerful earthquake in Central Sulawesi has not only damaged buildings. The scientific phenomenon known as liquefaction displaced people’s homes and farms more than one kilometer away. This has totally changed the face of Sigi regency, with entire villages changing locations.

The liquefaction that accompanied the 7.4-magnitude earthquake on Friday (28/9/2018) resulted in a number of villages in Sigi regency moving far away from their original coordinates.

Apart from homes, the phenomenon has also led to cornfields and clusters of coconut trees changing locations. At the site of the earthquake, you can see how entire cornfields have moved away from their original positions, with most of the plants still intact and standing. The cornfields now stand on what was originally people’s homes, which themselves have also moved more than one kilometer away.

Syaiful, 35, of Jono Oge village, Sigi Biromaru district, was among the survivors who saw how the soil in his village cracked open and mud came out from below.

Syaiful’s house was located on the side of Jl. Poros Palu-Napu. Due to its location, the village was often busy. Food stalls, small grocery stores and auto shops stood along both sides of the road. The Palu-Napu road that went through Sigi Biromaru served as the main access road into many areas in Poso, especially Napu valley.

When the earthquake hit on early Friday evening, Syaiful and his family were preparing for the maghrib (dusk) prayer. The first shocks sent them all running outside. They were approaching the main road when it cracked open, startling them.

“The moment the road split open, I saw thick mud coming out from below. My family and I then got back to our house and held fast to the house’s wooden beams. We all tried to keep our feet on something sturdy and just held on tightly to prevent ourselves from falling into the mud. I fell a few times but my hands were holding on tightly to the beams, which were shaking,” he said.

Moving house

At the time, because he was so focused on holding on to a beam and making sure his family was alright, he did not notice that the house was moving. When the house first moved and the furnishings were falling down, he thought it was because of the earthquake.

“When the house stopped moving, I tried to look around. I was so shocked that I was no longer in the village. The next day, I tried to find my house’s original location. I found that the house had moved more than 1 kilometer away,” he said.

Syaiful said he needed to be extra careful as the soil and mud was still unstable. When he arrived at what was supposed to be his village, he was shocked to find that it had been replaced by a cornfield.

Arkan, another villager whose house was nearly swept away by the mud, also saw how the soil split open. His house was only three meters away from where the soil cracked and mud flowed from below.

“I ran outside when the earthquake hit. I was almost running toward the village that the mud dragged away. When I saw the road split open and mud flowed from below, I changed directions,” he said. He was also surprised to find that his village had now been replaced by a cornfield.

Kompas observed that 90 percent of the corn plants were still intact and standing in the new location. It was as if the cornfield had moved without suffering any damage.

At least 2 kilometers of the main road in the village has now disappeared, cutting off access between Palu and Napu.

Similar conditions can also be seen in Sibalaya and other villages in Dolo district. Many of them moved locations in their entirety. Some former villages are now covered with coconut trees; others are buried beneath layers of mud mixed with rocks and splinters.

Some of the coconut trees, alongside other trees, moved in their entirety – complete with their roots and the soil immediately below – to new locations. Sigi Biromaru district is among the worst-hit areas, with cracked and wavy soil everywhere. Parts of the asphalt on the main road collapsed more than three meters deep. Paddy fields are also affected by liquefaction, leaving them looking like ocean waves.

Many locals now observe the former villages with equal amounts of wonder and confusion.

Evacuation

Many locals in Jono Oge and other displaced villages in Dolo are now living in relatives’ houses. Many are staying in shelters in Sigi Biromaru. Others go to Poso or other reachable regencies. Some others walk dozens of kilometers to reach Palu and try to find their relatives there.

Those currently in shelters in Sigi and Jono Oge have yet to receive government aid. They rely for sustenance on their neighbors who have extra food. Others just take the corn and vegetables neglected on the farms that have replaced their villages.

On Thursday morning, a rescue team arrived but was confused about where to start the rescue process. Many locals are buried under the rubble of moving homes. Thus far, locals have only tried to rescue victims using simple tools. Many victims who are trapped have yet to be rescued.