Deflecting Disaster Rumors

Thousands of people in Nias, Padang, and Jakarta panicked when a rumor spread about an earthquake and a tsunami. The government lacks an effective disaster information system.

April 12, 2005

TRAUMA can easily turn to panic. That phenomenon is being experienced—particularly at disaster locations—after Aceh and part of North Sumatra were attacked by an earthquake and a tsunami last December. This was even more significant when an earthquake shook Nias and Simeule, causing many deaths. A little rumor about an earthquake these days can instill a lot of terror in people.

In Nias, the trauma has caused an exodus of people

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