Tsunami Threat Said Paralyses Activities in Tanzania

Text of report entitled “Tsunami panic grips Dar” published by Tanzanian newspaper Daily News website on 14 September

News of a Tsunami threat temporarily paralysed fishing and other activities including sea transportation Wednesday [12 September] night as Dar es Salaam was thrown into panic, with many residents remembering the 2004 Boxing Day confusion along the Indian Ocean.

The Tanzania Meteorology Agency (TMA), however, had earlier warned people to exercise caution at sea and on beaches as the dangerous waves were expected to make land fall on the East African coast by 11:30 p.m. [2030 gmt]

TMA had also added that people should disregard the warning if nothing happened by 1:30 a.m. [2230 gmt on 13 September] But that was not the case. Bus stages at usually busy Kariakoo, some 2.5 kilometres inland, were deserted as people rushed home early to flee from the “tsunami”.

“We suspended night sea journeys and also asked fishermen to keep away from the sea on Wednesday night. MV Aziza and MV Flying Horse sunset voyages for Dar es Salaam were delayed until dawn today (yesterday [13 September]),” the Zanzibar Port Director for Marine Services, Mr Abdallah Juma, said yesterday.

Bars and other public places were also vacated in areas closer to the beach. A famous pub at Mbezi Beach along Morogoro Road in Dar es Salaam with a reputation for teaming with patrons was virtually empty by 9 p.m. [1800 gmt] on Wednesday night.

But in Indonesia where three powerful earthquakes jolted the island nation in succession on Wednesday, panic was for real as frightened residents fled to higher ground. The death toll yesterday stood at nine – regarded as low given the intensity of the tremors with magnitudes 8.4, 7.8 and 6.2 respectively on the Richter scale.

“At least five large buildings – including mosques, houses and a school – collapsed,” said Surya Budhi, who was overseeing emergency response in Padang.

Indonesia issued a tsunami alert, lifted it and then reissued it. Australia’s Bureau of Meteorology had warned that unusual waves could hit Christmas Island early Thursday [13 September], but locals said there was no sign of a tsunami about an hour after the predicted time.

Many people refused to return to their homes, fearing a repeat of the 2004 earthquake and tsunami off Sumatra that struck a dozen nations around the Indian Ocean. That disaster killed an estimated 230,000 people in a dozen nations, most of them in Indonesia’s Aceh province.

Originally published by Daily News website, Dar es Salaam, in English 14 Sep 07.

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