SUPRI Lindra, a local media reporter, sat crying. “I tried to run but I couldn’t,” he said. The earth on which he stood “danced wildly.” The earthquake raged for four minutes, the earth and the houses rocked back and forth. “The moment the jolt stopped, I ran to the top of the hill,” said the 24-year-old man.

Wednesday evening last week, some 4,000 residents of Pagai Island, South Pagai subdistrict, Mentawai Islands, some 150 kilom