Earthquake Bali 13th October 2011
Just experienced the biggest earthquake of my life in Bali. It has since been stated that it was 6.8 on the
Richter scale and that it struck some 10km off the coast of Nusa Dua off the southern tip of Bali. I was in on the third floor of the school I work in and the kids just bolted out, some screaming but most were just so focused on getting out that they didn't make a sound. It was a bizarre experience and, upon leaving, there were some very visible cracks in the outer walls of the building. Please see below for some of the photos I took of Carrefour on Sunset Road, Kuta. The huge side windows had shattered and fallen onto the road
and there were people loading shopping trolleys with rubble and debris from what had fallen off the outer walls. A colleague inside said it took around 3 minutes to evacuate amid the chaos.
I also passed the One Earth School in Pemogan, Denpasar on the way home from work and it looks like the children must have been confronted by a shower of falling tiles as they tried to exit. People at the school told me that, rather miraculously, no-one was hurt in the chaos.
One thing I learnt from this experience is that, when an earthquake happens, you best be ready as there really are no rules in Indonesia for such events - everyone just bolts and running is considered mandatory!!
If there as another earthquake in Bali like this one, I hope nothing more serious happens.
Have a look at my photos below for more (click to enlarge).
Just experienced the biggest earthquake of my life in Bali. It has since been stated that it was 6.8 on the
Richter scale and that it struck some 10km off the coast of Nusa Dua off the southern tip of Bali. I was in on the third floor of the school I work in and the kids just bolted out, some screaming but most were just so focused on getting out that they didn't make a sound. It was a bizarre experience and, upon leaving, there were some very visible cracks in the outer walls of the building. Please see below for some of the photos I took of Carrefour on Sunset Road, Kuta. The huge side windows had shattered and fallen onto the road
and there were people loading shopping trolleys with rubble and debris from what had fallen off the outer walls. A colleague inside said it took around 3 minutes to evacuate amid the chaos.
I also passed the One Earth School in Pemogan, Denpasar on the way home from work and it looks like the children must have been confronted by a shower of falling tiles as they tried to exit. People at the school told me that, rather miraculously, no-one was hurt in the chaos.
One thing I learnt from this experience is that, when an earthquake happens, you best be ready as there really are no rules in Indonesia for such events - everyone just bolts and running is considered mandatory!!
If there as another earthquake in Bali like this one, I hope nothing more serious happens.
Have a look at my photos below for more (click to enlarge).
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| One Earth School - tiles fell off left, right and centre! I don't know how the kids weren't hurt in the panic |
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| The shattered glass off the side of the building at Carrefour, Sunset Road, Kuta. Again, not sure how nobody got hurt |
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| The rubble & debris from Carrefour. |
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| Some big cracks |
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| The cracks run right across the front facade of the building |
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| That hole is bigger than it looks |
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| The other end of Carrefour, again, much bigger than it looks but nothing too major. |
Just seen this video also....starts off small but gets stronger!! Thanks to http://www.youtube.com/user/Suzanneinbali
Bali Earthquake October 13th 2011
Bali Earthquake October 13th 2011
its 13 October not September :) digitalgateit.com/wp-json/oembed/1.0/embed?url=https%3a%2f%2fdigitalgateit.com%2fmicrosoft-debuts-smarter-cloud-at-build%2f&format=xml
ReplyDeleteConsider it amended! /2011/10/earthquake-bali-13th-october-2011.html
ReplyDeleteWe were in Bali when it struck and Carrefour is a lot worse than it looks! Its not good because its a new building, only 4 years old!
ReplyDeleteI know several people who were there and they said it was absolute chaos and took an eternity to get out. How was it for you? If you have any pics, post a link!
ReplyDeleteThanks
I also think it's ironic that Carrefour is a multinational company who has endless amounts of money yet they occupy a building that has obviously been built in a way to cut costs - which could have, in this instance, also cost lives. I understand that Carrefour probably had nothing to do with building the complex but they should be more rigorous in checking the sites they occupy as supermarkets are one of the worst places to be when such things happen.
ReplyDeleteI was in Kuta when it hit, and it was very loud and everything was swaying, it lasted about 1 minute i think, we stayed inside and were quite safe, but then i see all the other pictures and you just never know.if you see the way they build things in Bali its no wonder buildings fall apart so easily. But I had a great holiday and cant wait to go back.
ReplyDeleteIn the area of Carrefour, there are many other buildings, some of similar size, which showed no signs of damage (at least from outside), so one has to ask about construction quality and design.
ReplyDeleteInside, (e.g. in the multi-storey car park, everything seems to be sound though, so the core structure is quire strong I would guess.
I was in Ubud at the time of the earthquake and was relaxing by a spring water feed pool, my chair started swaying and the water level in the pool rose up,then the water splashed up and out over the sides of the pool!
ReplyDelete