Preparing for earthquakes in Nias and the Mentawai islands, Indonesia

Year level: Upper primary / Lower secondary Learning Outcome: Students will examine the effectiveness of emergency preparedness in saving lives in the Nias and Mentawai islands earthquake. Find the Nias and Mentawai islands west of Sumatra Why might the people in these islands be isolated? What would isolation mean for these people’s daily lives? What would it mean when they face an emergency such as an earthquake? Use travel information websites to research how long it would take for you to travel to Nias and the Mentawai islands from your home. Use photos from the following websites to answer the following questions: http://www.surfaidinternational.org/site/pp.asp?c=ekLPK4MOIsG&b=492549 http://www.nativeplanet.org/projects/mentawai/project_mentawai_goals.shtml How do people live on these islands? Why are the islands vulnerable to earthquakes? Why are the islands well-known by people in Australian and New Zealand? Use the earthquake website http://earthquake.usgs.gov/ to find out more about earthquakes on Nias and the Mentawai islands. List the key features of the E-Prep program in the Saving lives with disaster preparedness case study. Describe How did the 2007 earthquake impact on people and buildings on the Mentawai islands? How did the E-Prep program assist in reducing the impact? How would social connections from the ongoing presence of SurfAid assist in the emergency response? Identify the similarities and differences between disaster preparation in your local community compared to the Mentawai islanders (Hint: evacuation drills, training of emergency service personnel, resources) Assessment task Write a paragraph describing how and why the people of Nias and the Mentawai islands need to continue taking steps to prepare for future earthquakes.