Quake, tsunami drill held in Bengkulu

The Jakarta Post

JAKARTA: Thousands of people participated on Monday in an earth-quake and tsunami emergency drill organized by the Bengkulu provincial authorities in an effort to help the public anticipate the severe impacts of the natural disaster.

The drill participants -- mostly women and children -- on instruction fled their homes and rushed to safer places after an alarm was sounded about an earthquake measuring 7.8 on the Richter scale and having the potential of triggering a tsunami at 9:30 a.m.

Governor Agusrin Maryono Najamuddin and Bengkulu City Mayor Ahmad Kanedi came to the city's main command post as soon as they learned from the Meteorology and Geophysics Agency (BMG) that the earthquake had the potential of triggering a tsunami.

"I hope all of you will remain calm because you are now at a location which is 13 meters above sea level," the governor told the evacuees during the simulated program.