Aftershocks in Indonesia: despite sadness and loss--and yet another earthquake--survivors work to rebuild their lives and their homes.

Loud rumblings, felt just before midnight on March 28, provoked widespread panic in southern Asia. Fearing that a tsunami would soon follow this massive earthquake, thousands of coastal residents in Indonesia, Thailand, Sri Lanka, and other countries fled inland.

Only three months had passed since a devastating tsunami killed nearly 300,000 people and destroyed entire villages. Many survivors had only begun to rebuild their lives and homes.

No tsunami materialized in the early morning hours of March 29. But the earthquake, which struck off the west coast of Indonesia's island of Sumatra and registered 8.7 on the Richter scale, caused plenty of damage. Collapsing homes killed more than 550 people, most of them on Nias Island (see map).

"We felt the earth trembling under our feet amidst general panic and cries of earthquake," said one eyewitness. The quake destroyed more than 6,100 homes and several buildings and schools.

"We Lost Everything"

Since the December tsunami, minor earthquakes and aftershocks have been common along the coast of the Indian Ocean, especially in Indonesia's Aceh (AH-chay) Province. The area was the hardest hit by the December 26 tsunami. In Indonesia alone, 235,800 people have been listed as dead or missing. Among the survivors, more than 400,000 people are now living in camps or shelters.

"We lost everything--our home, our clothes, my schoolbooks. Nothing was left," says Fitri, 14, who lives in a camp for displaced people in Banda Aceh, the province's capital. "The first month after the disaster was very difficult. We had to start from scratch. Now, things are finally getting better. I am going to school in a tent here, and my dad has found work helping to reconstruct our village."

With tsunami damages estimated at $4.5 billion, the government of Indonesia and humanitarian agencies face the challenge of providing shelter and supplies to survivors. The construction of temporary location centers (TLCs) has begun recently in many of the camps. Each TLC will have a communal kitchen and bathrooms, plus 20 small residential rooms. One family will be assigned to live in each room--a tight squeeze, especially for large families.

"The TLCs are much better than the overcrowded tent where we are living now," says Fitri. "We hope we won't have to stay [here] for long, but we need someplace to live while we rebuild our house."

Lost, Then Found

Fitri and some of her neighbors managed to escape harm on December 26 by running away from the tsunami. For several hours, she did not know what had happened to her family. "First of all, I thought that they were all dead. I started to pray, and then I heard my father calling me," Fitri told JS. "After we fled, we spent three days on the road with nothing to eat. On the fourth day, we reached this camp and have been living here ever since."

The tsunami destroyed the main road between two of the province's largest cities--Meulaboh (may-OOH-lah-boh) and Banda Aceh. That made access to many survivors almost impossible in the days after the tsunami. Today, the road is still covered with rubble, and in some parts it is flooded. But most areas are finally open.

Conflict and Suspicions

All the death and destruction in Aceh Province from the tsunami only briefly stopped another destructive force: guerrilla warfare. For nearly 30 years, rebels demanding independence have battled Indonesia's government for control of the province, which is rich in petroleum and natural gas.

Since 1976, an estimated 12,000 people have died in the fighting. Historically, the government has used housing camps to separate guerrillas from the general population, and to keep close watch over the people who aid them. That practice has made some people suspicious of the TLCs.

Tueku, 13, and his family have been living with relatives since the tsunami destroyed their home on the coast near Meulaboh. They don't know if they will be able to move back to their land. New laws have designated parts of the coastline as protection and conservation zones.

"The government is taking advantage of the tsunami to steal our land and is trying to force us into refugee camps so it can control us," says Tueku, echoing a common belief. He does not support the government's plan to expel many of the international aid organizations that are in Aceh, helping with recovery efforts.

"We don't want the foreigners to go," says Tueku, whose sister was killed by the tsunami. "We need their help. We still don't have anywhere to live. My father's fishing boat was destroyed, and he can't work. We are living on food distributions to survive. The foreigners are the only people helping us. Without them, we don't have much hope."

Word to Know

* tsunami (tsoo-NAH-mee): a towering wave, or series of waves, triggered by an underwater earthquake, landslide, or volcanic eruption.

* OBJECTIVES

Students should understand

* how tsunami rebuilding efforts are progressing in Indonesia's Aceh Province.

* how a major earthquake struck Indonesia three months after the tsunami.

* WORDS TO KNOW

Richter scale: a ranking of earthquake magnitude, with values typically ranging from 1 (least destructive) to 9 (highly destructive)

guerrillas: troops engaged in irregular warfare (such as ambushes and sabotage)

* TEACHING STRATEGY

After students read this article, have them reread "Ocean of Sorrow" (JS, 1/24/05). Ask: How did the effects of the December tsunami compare with those of the March quake? How might relief efforts already under way be hampered by the earthquake?

* BACKGROUND

On March 28, 2005, an 8.7-magnitude earthquake struck some areas of southern Asia affected by the December 26 tsunami.

* CRITICAL THINKING

MAKING INFERENCES: How might the guerrilla war in Aceh affect the province's ability to rebuild? (Answers will vary; may include reconstruction delays caused by fighting, and diversion of government funds from services to warfare. The government is seeking to limit the number of relief organizations in Aceh Province, partly as a way to control the flow of information about the guerrilla war.)

MAKING CONNECTIONS: Why are some Acehnese suspicious of the temporary location centers? (In the past, Indonesia's government used housing camps to monitor interaction between guerrillas and the general population.)

* ACTIVITY

FOLLOW-UP: Have students check reliable news sources for information on the progress of aid and reconstruction efforts in Aceh.

SOCIAL STUDIES, GRADES 5-8

* People, places, and environments: How devastation to the physical environment caused by a tsunami and an earthquake is affecting the lives and livelihoods of the people of Aceh.

* Global connections: Local politics in a disaster-struck area can affect efforts of outside organizations to provide aid.

RESOURCES

PRINT

* Nardo, Don, Krakatoa (World Disasters series, Thomson Gale, 1990). Grades 6 &, up.

* Thompson, Luke, Tsunamis (Scholastic Library Publishing, 2000). Grades 5-10.

WEB SITES

* Earthquake report, map, stats earthquake.usgs.gov/eqinthenews/2005/usweax

* World Health Organization who.int/hac/crises/idn/sitreps/2005/earthquake_0l/en

* Put the following events in the correct chronological order by numbering them from A (earliest) to E (latest).

--6. Indonesia's government tries to keep guerrillas separate from the general population.

--7. Aftershocks, including a major earthquake, cause damage and widespread panic in parts of South Asia.

--8. Guerrilla warfare begins between Indonesia's government and rebels in Banda Aceh.

--9. Survivors who have lost their homes seek shelter in camps.

10. An earthquake sets off a devastating tsunami that kills hundreds of thousands of people.

6. B

7. E

8. A

9. D

10.C