You must have heard about the recent earthquakes in Bengkulu and West Sumatera in the news:
CNN Asia
U.S. Geological Survey Earthquake Hazards Program
ReliefWeb
Wikipedia
Below is a minor story that never made any big news in the media. Nonetheless it will remain a major event in my personal life.
It is hard to appreciate the importance of safety protection policies and what they entail and require for enforcement. . . until one finds oneself in a moment of emergency.
I must admit until recently I found most discussions, forms, and any exercise pertaining to issues of health and safety boring. I would not argue about their importance in principle, and I am glad they exist where they do. But in practice I find their periodical requirements of training and exercise a hassle. I often laughed with the audience in a major public briefing in Australia, as the meeting began with a few minutes of due announcement of safety information and procedure in case of emergency. Perhaps because it is less common, it is less acceptable than say a flight attendant telling you how to fasten your seat belt.
All of that came back to mind I recalled the experience of encountering and surviving the earthquake in Jakarta last August.
Wikipedia
U.S. Geological Survey Earthquake Hazards Program
ABC News (video)
It happened about ten minutes after midnight. I was staying in one of the nice international-chained five-star hotels at the heart of the capital city. The aftershock woke me up. When I began to realise what was happening I thought the building was about to collapse and I would die in a matter of minutes or seconds. I felt I had to choose what to do in the remaining few minutes or seconds of my life. All proved to be an expression of my paranoia. None of these tragic scenarios happened. While that was good news, what I regretted most was the hotel’s total failure to take even the basic action and offer assistance to their guests. For more details see my piece in Indonesian in Kompas.