BANDA ACEH, Indonesia - Residents surveying damage from two powerful earthquakes that reignited memories of the devastating 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami said Thursday they could hardly believe their luck.
Five people died from heart attacks, and a few others were injured as mobs used cars and motorcycles to flee to high ground Wednesday in Indonesia’s westernmost province of Aceh - closest to the epicenters.
But aside from cracks in the walls of houses and structural damage to one bridge, you would hardly know anything happened, said Usman Basyah, smiling as he handed change to customers at his street stall.
“I really feel my prayers were answered this time,’’ said Basyah, who lost one of his sons in the disaster eight years ago. “I’m so grateful. We’ve gone through enough trauma already.’’
The first quake Wednesday , measuring 8.6, triggered a tsunami watch in more than two dozen nations and island territories, from Australia and India to as far off as Africa.