Making the word smong part of the Indonesian vocabulary does not mean removing the word tsunami. Smong should be a source of pride in how local knowledge protects us from disaster.
A destroyed house in an earthquake-devastated area at Balaroa village in Palu, Central Sulawesi, Indonesia, October 11 2018. It’s reported at least 2,045 people have died as a result of earthquakes that hit central Sulawesi and triggered a tsunami.
EPA/Hotli Simanjuntak
A majority of the over 24 mosques spread over Palu were damaged in the tsunami. Two of them survived, though one of them is gradually sinking.
Rescue team members rest near an earthquake-devastated area during a search for victims under the ruins of collapsed buildings in Balaroa, Palu city, Central Sulawesi.
EPA Images