Now she is in Pantaï Barat, environ 100km north of Palu, near the epicentre, where TSF’s teams came to conduct operations of itinerant Wi-Fi. She has no news of her school because she has no internet access since the earthquake. Thanks to the mobile connexion that TSF set up in this village she was able to contact her colleagues on Whatsapp to know if they were safe, if her school was damaged and when it will reopen.
Despite Tuesday’s announcement of the Indonesian government to evacuate all foreign aid workers, TSF was able to continue its operation thanks to its collaboration with the Southeast Asian Nations Association (ASEAN) Intervention and Emergency Assessment Teams (ERAT). The satellite connection that our teams installed in their coordination centre in Palu has now been replaced by a fibre connection provided by a local operator but TSF keeps monitoring the stability of the service.
Sulawesi earthquake: TSF’s itinerant Wi-Fi helping isolated populations near the epicentre
Rihanna, 26 years old, is teacher in a primary school of Palu. During the earthquake she was in the jungle close by. She tells us: “The electricity was off due to the earthquake. The whole city was dark. A lot of buildings were destroyed. The people were running and shouting in the street in panic. Parents were looking for their children; children for their parents. It was terrible.”
