Padang Earthquake

Justin Cote gives his account from ground zero

Surfersvillage Global Surf News, 30 October, 2009 : - - On the morning of September 30th 2009, I awoke relatively rested two days after guiding my previous surf charter. I knew I’d missed the peak of the swell as I had three other times earlier in the season and was laying in bed wondering how good the waves were in the Mentawais.

“It’s absolutely cooking,” I thought as I went next door to the Chinese coffee shop to order my morning coffee. After a little time on the computer and a quick shower I had plans to meet my friend Amen May (one of the owners of Kandui Resort) for breakfast and a walk around the city of Padang. When stuck in Padang between surf charters, Padang can be very boring so Amen and I realized that we had not caught up with each other for almost a year so conversation a good feed and exercise were in the cards for us.

After an early lunch we started off to the malls and shopping centers of Padang. With tons of cars, mopeds and bustling passers-by we weaved in and out of people like ants on an ant farm. After living in west Sumatra for a while and feeling how active the fault lines are here and also being a California carpenter specializing in earthquake codes for commercial and residential buildings, earthquakes seem to be the topic of frequent discussions.

So while shopping and commenting on the structures we frequented that day we decided to visit a girl that I was courting who was working in the Andalas shopping center in downtown Padang. We visited for a while and then Amen and I thought that we should continue our trek through the city. We said good-bye and soon Amen and I were off again.

Read the full article at Transworld Surf

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Source: Transworld Surf

Padang Earthquake - Surfersvillage