IT’S a guess as to how many times Danny Hilman Natadwidjaja has been shouting “Watch out for a huge earthquake in Mentawai!” Padang, Bengkulu and other towns and villages along the western shore of Sumatra Island have been warned against effects of earthquakes or sea waves which are triggered by quakes.

The massive waves that devastated Aceh towards the end of 2004, accompanied by an earthquake in Nias in March 2005 and another in Mentawai