SE Asia Quake/Tsunami
Pure Vacations update on Indian Ocean surf spots and resorts status
Surfersvillage Global Surf News, 29 December 2004: - - Pure Vacations staff have not slept much in the last 72 hours, trying to rescue their surfers. Some other surftravel companies are not manning their offices and Pure Vacations have also assisted these customers and have taken them under our wing.
It is SO IMPORTANT that people travel with proper surf tour operators....... this is why, Pure Vacations have been on this emergency since it started talking to British Embassy staff etc... they actually managed to arrange a helicopter lift of passengers who were not theirs from an island!!!!
Regional status updates:
Firstly, the Maldives Lohifushi Resort is OK, it took a big hit but its not destroyed just badly damaged and will be rebuilt with ease soon. A number of other surfing islands however are still under water or destroyed. It is looking good however for all boat trips for the summer as they seem to be fine at this moment, we have no boat damage which is good news. Repairs to the Lohifushi Resort are commencing immediately and the resort is expected to make a full recovery by the start of the upcoming surfing season.
Indo: Northern Sumatra:
Hinakos, the surf resort was evidently spared the full wrath of the tsunamis but severely flooded. The staff escaped by boat as the water levels began to rise. No assessment yet on the material damage to the resort but we expect some major damage.
Bali/Nusa Tengarra/G-land:
These areas were not effected by the quake or the tsunamis.
Nias and the surrounding area:
Pure Vacations have not heard a word out of there only an Australian surf guide who took a boat and said its destroyed so they cannot confirm anything.
Sri Lanka:
Sri Lanka is a country that is in a bad way, all west and east coast surf resorts are wiped out... most hotels are destroyed or severly damaged and all we can say is that the whole programme looks bad. Rebuild we believe will take at least 12 month if not more but the good thing is that the Sri Lankan people were the best when it came to helping surfers and we can openly say that we shall support them fully.
Overall we believe that many surf spots (breaks) will be damaged and many new ones will form, we know G-Land when it was hit by a small tidal wave many years ago has never been the same so its a wait and see period.
Pure Vacations has so many other regions available that we are just re-booking guests to other spots and we are now going to launch more destinations throughout 2005 quicker... so overall the surf traveller will have a good choice and this disaster should not effect them too much.
Pure Vacation will form some type of charity rescue mission soon that will raise funds, equipment and assistance to the surf tourism regions and help these areas develop. We am heart broken to see children and adults that have died in such huge numbers and it breaks our hearts to know that we have lost so many friends overseas in the whole region. We hope that the surfing community will support everything we try and do!
Wes Baker / Purevacations
info@purevacations.com
Related Web Sites
Preliminary Earthquake Report official measurements of the earthquake from USGS.
Indonesian Tsunami news, video, and more from NOAA.
2004 Indian Ocean earthquake features country-by-country impact; from Wikipedia.
South Asia: Earthquake and Tsunami from ReliefWeb.
South-East Asia Earthquake and Tsunami Blog Information about resources, aid, donations, and volunteer efforts.
WorldChanging: Another World Is Here Blog featuring news and first-hand accounts of the disaster.
Sumankumar's Yak Pad Blog from India offering perceptions of the tsunami disaster.
More Australian Surfing News available here
Check the latest Australasian Surf Reports and Forecasts
Wes Baker
Pure Vacations
www.purevacations.com
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