After 20 years, the post-tsunami generation stays vigilant for future disasters

LHOKNGA, Indonesia — Qurrata Ayuni, a 28-year-old survivor of the earthquake and tsunami that devastated her hometown two decades ago, has transformed her resilience into purpose. Defying Aceh's male-dominated coffee culture, she runs a café that serves as a welcoming space for everyone, especially women, by employing and empowering them in the region worst hit by the tragedy.

On Dec. 26, 2004, a powerful 9.1-magnitude earthquake, off the coast of the Indonesian island of Sumatra, triggered a tsunami that killed around 230,000 people across a dozen countries, reaching as far as East Africa. Some 160,000 of those were in Aceh, at the northwestern tip of Indonesia.

Ayuni survived the tsunami by chance, staying at her aunt’s house in Banda Aceh instead of her family home in Lampuuk, Aceh Besar district. However, the disaster shattered her childhood, claiming the lives of her parents and younger sister, who was only 6 when their home was hit by the giant waves.

Infrastructure in Aceh has been rebuilt and is now stronger than before the tsunami. Early warning systems have been set up in areas closer to shores, to warn residents of a potential tsunami.

About 14 kilometers (9 miles) from Ayuni’s coffee shop, in a public high school in Lhoknga, students regularly take part in disaster simulations, especially when there is a warning of an earthquake, and get ready to evacuate ahead of a possible tsunami.

They hide under the table and chant dhikr (the Islamic prayer) “la ilaha illallah,” which means “there’s no God but Allah,” while waiting for the next direction to move from their classroom to the designated assembly point which is on the field at the front of the school.

The school has a devastating history. Situated about one kilometer (half a mile) from the shore, it was totally destroyed and flattened to the ground like other buildings. This school was one of over 1,400 that were wrecked by the tsunami, according to a report by the Disaster Mitigation Research Center at Syiah Kuala University in Aceh, published in 2019.

Some of the teachers are survivors of that disaster. They were only teenagers when they saw the giant waves, some as high as coconut trees.

They are the only ones left at the school who experienced the disaster, as all the students now were born after 2004. They have only heard the story about the quake followed by three giant waves and the impact from their parents.

“We also want to educate them about the history of the tsunami. We don’t want them to remain ignorant about that history, that there was a tragedy that may be dark for some people," said Eka Sari Dewi, the school principal.

"However, today as the younger generation, they must know what they should do after the tsunami.”

That is why Dewi has followed the government policy of educating her students about tsunamis, teaching them to remain alert and be ready to evacuate to safer places when required.

After about a year of disaster simulations at school on the 26th of every month, students have become very alert and are ready to act when the disaster alarm rings.

“This simulation is very useful because if a disaster happens, we will know how to do self-rescue. Then we also won’t be confused like people in the past,” Rihadatul Aisy, one of the students, said.

Fazli, the head of Preparedness in Aceh Disaster Management Agency, who like many Indonesians uses a single name, said that the simulation aims to build school community capacity, raise awareness and prepare students for earthquakes by equipping them with vital earthquake and tsunami information and ensuring readiness anytime, anywhere.

“The biggest hope is that there will be minimal casualties when the (next) disaster occurs,” Fazli said.

Survivors who faced disasters at a very young age like Ayuni cannot directly digest what they faced in the past. However, there is hope that younger generations can be better prepared to face such challenges in the future.

“I hope the younger generation doesn’t forget that we were once hit by a very powerful tsunami. So for now, even though our infrastructure may have turned around and is very good, our economy has come back again, don’t forget the old incident,” Ayuni said.