Indonesia’s Vice President fears Monday’s 8.7 earthquake may eventually claim up to 2000 lives. The University of Southern California Tsunami Research Center says that earthquake is the 8th largest recorded in the past 50 years. It was centered on the same fault line where a December 26 earthquake launched a tsunami that killed at least 175 thousand people. The daughter of Naples photographer Connie Bransilver is the program policy director for the relief agency Oxfam. Dr. Lea Borkenhagen is in Ache setting up relief efforts after the tsunami. Bransilver got an email from her soon after the quake.
“She was very shaken. She said it was extremely scary, especially seeing all the people running and driving up the road… She was in the safest building fortunately in Ache but she said she feels likes she’s drunk half an hour after the event. She said my body is still moving. I have two wrong flip flops on. She couldn’t see anything. It happened in the middle of the night. So she is well and I have confidence that she’s now putting her mind to helping other people.”
Bransilver says Borkenhagen has been with Oxfam for a year and a half and has lived in Indonesia off and on since 1990.