There is a sudden spike in this blog’s traffic today. The entry with the most hits according to WordPress’s Blog Stat is Earthquake In Penang Update. That was the worst tremblor that I experienced when I literally saw the main door rattling like someone was desperately knocking on it from outside trying to get in. I knew it was an earthquake and wondered if the building would collapse as I felt the floor swaying like never before.

The previous one was on Boxing Day in 2004 when an earthquake with a magnitude of between 9.1 to 9.3 in the Richter scale shook Sumatra and caused the mother of all tsunamis in recent times. The waves decimated coastal villages from Acheh to Sri Lanka to Madagascar in the African continent. It was the greatest disaster many of us had known in our lives.

An earthquake with a magnitude of 7.5 struck off the western coast of Indonesia’s Sumatra island close to Simeulue island at 4.08pm just now, according to the US Geological Survey (USGS). A tsunami warning was issued. This was the cause of the spike in traffic. People were looking for information on “earthquake” and “Penang”. That page came out topmost in Google for those two keywords. I pray that no lives are lost in this calamity. The people in Sumatra have suffered enough from previous earthquakes.

For people who are living in high-rise buildings, it is imperative to evacuate at the earliest possible opportunity. There are a few safety tips that people who are caught in an earthquake should observe. I have summarised them into 12 points in an entry titled Earthquake: What To Do. That was in 2004. I knew that I could not evacuate like other people and I thought it would be good increase my chances of surviving a devastating earthquake by reading up on measures that I should take in such instances.

According to Jeff Ooi there are bigger morons out there. Here is what he has to say in Malaysia in spotlight… right reasons:

Both Peter Tan and TV Smith have been picked up by media watchers in the US and France for their blogs about the Richter 8.7 Nias Island quake.

If you think Peter is a self-confessed moron (read Instapundit’s one-liner and Jeff Jarvis’s accolades), the bigger ones are here.

Thank you Jeff. It is comforting to know that I am not one-of-a-kind. When “breaking news” has to go through all the layers and layers of protocols and approvals from higher ups, it becomes stale news. Bloggers may not be trained journalists but we get the news out fastest. Judging by the speed that our broadcasters go about disseminating information like this, many will turn to blog aggregators like the Project Petaling Street for the latest updates.

When I wrote Bloggers Are Morons, little did I realise that it will create such a stir in blogosphere. I stayed back because taking the elevator was not an option I fancied especially during and immediately after an earthquake. There was no way I could go down thirty eight flights of stairs. Stayed back I did.

The only way to calm my fraying nerves was to occupy my mind by blogging about the moment. As the floor continued to sway under me, I was pounding away at the keyboard. I had gotten the maid to open the door just in case we needed to escape; to where I had no idea.

Those two minutes or so felt like it would last forever. I was still anxious but there was nothing much I could do. During the tremor, there was a commotion outside. I looked behind me out the door. My neighbours were scurrying off into the elevator. I mumbled a silent prayer and hoped they would not get stuck between floors and continued to type. And a moronic blogger was born. That entry made its way around the globe and into some very interesting blogs.

Here are excerpts from some of them:

Jeff Jarvis of BuzzMachine in Quake: ‘Bloggers are morons’ called it “this great post.” Someone commented in the same entry that “only people who think bloggers are morons are the bluehaired, antiquated Marxists of the legacy media who are still living in the Great Depression.”

Glenn Reynolds of Instapundit with this one line entry
MORONS? I prefer to think “brave.”

Norman Geras of Normblog in Does blogging damage the mind?
Quite possibly.

Crook and Liars in Blogging thru the Earthquake
Blogging has fried our brains.

Will of MSNBC’s Blogs etc.
Peter Tan has been helpful. My particular favorite: “Bloggers are morons.” Also handy, What to do in an earthquake.” Jeff Ooi and Mack Zulkifli were mentioned in that same entry.

pointblog.com, a blog in French, in Blogueur � nos risques et peril

Mack Zulkifli of Brand New Malaysian in Malaysia Service Desk -Lost and Found announcement
So last night, the good Peter Tan experienced the quake, like many of us. It was terrifying, yet he blogged as the building was shaking violently. he questioned his wisdom. I question his building management.

Jordan of Macvaysia in A Whole Lotta Shakin’
Peter’s certainly no moron. He’s confined to a wheelchair and had no quick way out anyway (this country is WAY behind in accessibility for the disabled), so he might as well blog, right? Keep blogging, Peter!

Imran Idris of What’s Up Doc in Earthquake Alert!
One interesting outcome of the earthquake was to demonstrate beyond any reasonable doubt how crazy bloggers are. Peter Tan, a Malaysian blogger who resides in Penang, actually kept on blogging throughout the minute or so his apartment was shaking.

Updated March 31, 2005 - 1344hrs.
Flaming Duck in Live moron earthquake blogging
This is a must read post! Peter Tan was blogging during the earthquake at The Digital Awakening. Pay special attention to the post titled “Bloggers Are Morons” because it begins

(grin)

The Sock Diary in Bloggers in Malaysia Warn of Earthquake
This guy, Peter Tan, goes above and beyond the call of duty… and makes a good point. How the hell was he supposed to get out with no working legs and authorities with no plan? Jeez.

First Kid on the Blog
The Digital Awakening claims the distinction of being the first in Malaysia and probably the world to blog about the earthquake. Yes, let me gloat about it since I risked life and limb to do that.

Jeff Ooi of Screenshots in 8.7 earthquake near Medan under the subheading The Online World Rules, Again!
Peter Tan has the first blog on the earthquake at 00:17hr, and scores of other bloggers ooze from their vantage points reporting to PetalingStreet.org.

miss-information.net, a bi-lingual blog in French and English in Blogging the earthquake
Peter Tan is in Malaysia and probably the first blogger to have posted about the earthquake.

Bene Diction Blogs On in Earthquake and tsunami warning
The power of blogs. Peter Tan of The Digital Awakening was probably the first person online blogging about the quake. Peter is in a wheel chair.

Danny Lim of SunBlogs Bazaar in The Quake Response
Peter Tan clocked in at 12.11am, two minutes after the tremors started with the briefest of postings: “My apartment is shaking now.”

Updated March 31, 2005 - 1347hrs.
Other blogs that linked to my earthquake entries:

The South-East Asia Earthquake and Tsunami Blog in Peter Tan Blogs the Quake

Andy Carvin’s Waste of Bandwidth in Peter Tan Blogs the Quake in Real-Time

Mack Zulkifli in Global Voices Online in Bloggers in Malaysia Warn of Earthquake

auyongtc’s blog in Felt tremor!
(auyongtc was the second blog to ping PPS about the earthquake right after me.)

CheeV’s Useless in Weblog Tremor?

cityrag in asian bloggers on tsumani watch

Tiago D�ria in Meu apartamento est� tremendo

TheBenitoReport in “There was a strong vibration at 12.15 am”

Blue Fuse in Asia quake blogs (MSNBC)

Updated April 3, 2005 - 1555hrs.
LIONEL.blogs in Easter Monday earthquake

This entry will be updated with blogs that linked to the earthquake entries from time to time.

Mack Zulkifli of Brand New Malaysian has taken up the issue of the building manager’s refusal to draw up a contingency plan for the 4 blocks of apartment where I stay in his entry titled Malaysia Service Desk -Lost and Found announcement. Blocks 31A, B, C & D of Taman Pekaka consists of 544 units of which 504 units are contained in three 22-storey blocks and another forty units in a 5-storey block.

Several fires have broken out in some of the apartments. Fortunately they were extinguished quickly with only minor damages within the respective units concerned. After the last fire at the apartment one floor below mine, I wrote a letter to the building manager and blogged about it here. I am pasting it here again for context.

BLOCK 31A, B, C & D CONTINGENCY PLAN FOR FIRE AND EMERGENCIES

If you do not already know, a fire broke out at 31B-19-4 today at approximately 2:25pm. The guardhouse was promptly notified. I am extremely disappointed that the guards arrived at the scene of the incident only after the fire was extinguished. At the first instance when a fire is reported, the security guard posted at the respective Blocks should take control of the situation. If your security guards were not trained in fire fighting, then they should have been instructed to notify residents staying in the immediate vicinity and if the situation warrants, evacuate them in an orderly manner. None of these were done. Lives were at stake and your security guards were acting in a lackadaisical attitude which is truly appalling.

As the Manager of the four blocks of apartment here, it is your responsibility to ensure the security and safety of all residents at all times. I would like to know what contingency plans you have in the event of a major fire or emergencies. Surely, for the amount of management fees and security guard fees that are being charged to the management fund every month, you must have already drawn up a strategy to ensure the safety of residents here.

In addition, despite protests from parcel owners, you have been grossly irresponsible in continuing to allow cars to be parked at the driveway in such a manner that they will obstruct the movement of fire engines and ambulances. This will seriously impede rescue and fire fighting attempts. Are you going to wait until lives are lost because of these obstructions before you are ready to consider the safety of residents?

I trust you will furnish all parcel owners and residents here with a copy of the Contingency Plan for Fire and Emergencies within fourteen days to see if any amendment is needed. This will allow us to reside here with a peace of mind knowing that our safety and security is being looked after. However, if there is no such plan, I urge you to immediately initiate a dialogue with parcel owners and put together one for the safety of all residents here.

This letter was copied to the Pengarah Jabatan Bomba dan Penyelamat, the State Assemblyman YB Goh Kheng Sneah and the Chairman of the Residents Association here. The State Assemblyman followed up this issue with the relevant authorities. However the building manager did not respond to my letter until the Residents Association pursued the matter with them. Below is a scan of the reply to the Residents Association from the building manager regarding that issue.

Click for bigger image.

We have experienced two earthquakes and several minor fires here but the building manager has yet to draw up a contingency plan nor hold a dialogue with the unit proprietors here to get feedback and suggestion on what steps to take in the event of a major emergency. In between that period the nozzles and couplings for the fire hoses on many floors were stolen due to the lack of security. The missing items were recently replaced and the costs charged into the management fund.

There are other major issues and disputes with the building manager who is also the developer that is being looked into by the Residents Association. I understand that those issues have been escalated to the Pengarah Jabatan Tanah dan Galian and the Secretary of the MPPP and they are looking into our grouses and problems. We are currently waiting for the issuance of the strata titles for our respective units. Hopefully when we get the title and form the management corporation, the unit proprietors and residents here can see better days because we will then have the right to determine the management of this place that we have come to call home.

I sincerely thank Mack for taking a personal interest in this issue. His concern has really touched me. We have not met in real life apart from chatting online a few times. I have met a lot of people who took a cursory interest in my plight but Mack is one of those few who is making it a crusade to see that my concerns and problems will be properly addressed. Thank you again Mack. The underprivileged and the underdogs need more people like you.

Related entries:
Fire! Fire! - The Sequel
http://www.petertan.com/blog/archives/2004/11/fire_fire_the_s_1.html” target=”_blank”>Fire! Fire! The Saga Continues
What Fire Safety?

I got Wuan to call Ros in Mauritius at 0330 just now. They have been alerted and advised to evacuate by the authorities. It is a relief to know that they are aware and are ready for any eventualities. If it comes, the tsunami is expected to hit the shores of this island within the next few hours. Mauritius is four hours behind Malaysia.