Mentawai Islands
From Missiopedia
- The Mentawai Islands are a chain of about 70 islands off the western coast of Sumatra in Indonesia. Siberut (4,030 km²) is the largest of the islands. The other major islands are Sipura, North Pagai (Pagai Utara) and South Pagai (Pagai Selatan). The islands lie approximately 150 km off the Sumatran coast, across the Mentawai Strait.
- The Mentawai Islands are an part of an active and powerful earthquake zone lining the south side of Sumatra, capable of producing tsunami.
- The Mentawai people are the native people of the Mentawai Islands, province West Sumatra, Indonesia. They live a semi-nomadic hunter - gatherer lifestyle in the coastal and rainforest environments of the islands. The Mentawai population is estimated to be about 64,000. The Mentawai language belongs to the Austronesian language family. The dialects of the language include: Simalegi, Sakalagan, Silabu, Taikaku, Saumanganja, North Siberut, South Siberut, Sipura, Pagai.
- September 2007: Two massive earthquakes of magnitude 8.4 & 7.9 on the Richter Scale have struck the region of the Mentawai Islands, followed by numerous aftershocks in the 5-6 range. The four-island chain was particularly hit hard in the south, close to the earthquake epicentres, and there have been reports of some deaths. The traumatised communities fear another earthquake and possible tsunami. About 60 per cent of the south Mentawai region has been destroyed or damaged.
- Local Government Reports The Following Death/Injury Toll and Damage:
- Sipora Island: Serious damage to landing jetties (2), offices (8), government-owned staff houses (6), primary schools (13); junior high schools (3); senior high schools (3), houses (542), churches (21), mosques (7), roads (3), State Electricity Company (1), fish market (1), and bridges (6).
- Siberut Selatan (South): Serious damage to landing jetties (2), offices (11), health clinics (4), government-owned staff houses (19), houses (263), bridges (2), primary schools (8), junior high schools (1), senior high schools (1), mosques (4), roads (6), and bridges (6).
- Pagai Utara (North) and Pagai Selatan (South): Deaths: 3 people, Injuries: 591 people, Displaced persons: 24,255 people, Serious damage to houses (1,298), offices (23), primary schools (20), junior high schools (3), senior high schools (2), roads (1), bridges (6), and health clinics (4).
