Atika Shubert of CNN

Something's wrong with my home's cable TV this evening, it can only show CNN program.

Because of this I have to watch the wedding ceremony of Great Britain's Prince William and Catherine Middleton, which was really good. Their wedding dresses, wedding vows, and balcony double kisses.

CNN has a team of to report the event, the one that I noticed most was Atika Shubert. It was the first time that I saw her reporting again after she reported the Tsunami that devastated the Province of Aceh in late 2004.

The reason why I was interested in Atika because she has an Indonesian name.

According to CNN's website, Atika has been stationed at CNN's bureau in London since 2008. She is responsible for covering general news in the U.K and other regional assignments.

She joined CNN in 2000 and covered news from the Jakarta Bureau. She was one of the first CNN correspondents to report live from Aceh, Indonesia on the Indian Ocean tsunami in December 2004 that killed more than 200,000 in Aceh alone. Her reports from the devastated region helped earn CNN the prestigious Alfred I. Dupont-Columbia Award in 2005.

In 2004 Atika moved to CNN's Tokyo bureau and then Jerusalem, Israel, in 2006.

According to Wikipedia, prior to working for CNN, Atika was a correspondent for The Washington Post and The New Zealand Herald in Indonesia as she speaks both English and Indonesian fluently. She is a graduate of the Class of 1991 of Jakarta International School. She is an Economics graduate of Tufts University in Massachusetts,.U.S.A.

Nuclear Reactors in Indonesia

Today I received some text messages from friends warning about the spread of radioactive materials from the Fukushima nuclear reactor in Japan damaged by the recent earthquake and tsunami, that may be blown by the wind to other countries like the Philippines and Indonesia.

I was not fooled by this messages because I have been following the news about this matter since yesterday, therefore I understand that the main part of the Fukushima nuclear reactor is still safe.

But I can understand why people are very worried, because they still remember about the blast of the nuclear reactor in Chernobyl, Russia  in 1986, in which tens of thousands of people were by radioactive materials leaked from the reactor.

Fear of such nuclear tragedy has cause pro and contra on the government's plan to build large nuclear power reactors in this country.

Actually, nuclear reactor is not something new for Indonesia, as a matter of fact according to Wikipedia Indonesia has built and operated Nuclear Research Reactors for many decades.

Today, the National Atomic Energy Agency (BATAN) operates three nuclear research reactors at the following locations :
1)  Serpong, Banten       :  30 MW Multi-Purpose Reactor (1987)
2)  Bandung, West Java :  Triga Mark II (250 Kw in 1965, 2 MW in 1997)
3)  Yogyakarta              :  Triga Mark II (100 Kw in 1979)

Indonesia is viable to build a nuclear reactor in every provinces due to there are ample stocks of materials and appropriate geological support. Various locations have been proposed for building nuclear reactors that will actually be taken into production for the purpose of generating electricity:

1) Muria, Central Java
2) Gorontalo, in the North of Sulawesi
3) Bangka Belitung province
4) Kalimantan.

As a legal basis for the development of nuclear power reactors, Indonesia has promulgated the Nuclear Power Law in 1997, which stipulated that Indonesia shall have a lot much bigger nuclear power reactor in 2019 that will provide much more electric power (at least 200 MW) for the country.

Considering that Indonesia will need lots of electric power for development of the country, and the source of electricity, i.e. coal, gas, petroleum, geothermal, is limited, I think we should keep an open mind on the possibility of building a nuclear power reactors that can provide much bigger electricity.

But in this case we must make sure that reactor would be located in a place that would not be affected by earthquake and/or other natural disasters, operated and maintained by people who are highly skilled and disciplined.

The Earthquake and Tsunami in Japan

A powerful earthquake with magnitude of 8.9 on Richter Scale struck the north eastern coast of Japan on Friday unleashing Tsunami with more than 7 meters high waves that swept away boats, cars and homes while widespread fires burned out of control.

According to The Jakarta Globe, the earthquake was followed by more than 50 aftershocks for hours, many of them of more than magnitude 6.0. Dozens of cities and villages along a 2,100-kilometer stretch of coastline were shaken by violent tremors that reached Tokyo, located hundreds of kilometers from the epicenter.

BBC quoted local officials as saying that more than 1,000 people are thought to have died.and many others missing. Hundreds of bodies were found in the northeastern coastal city of Sendai. The death toll was likely to continue climbing given the scale of the disaster.

Electricity and Communications have been badly affected by the earthquake and tsunami until noon today.

This afternoon, a magnitude 6 earthquake has caused a large explosion at the Fukushima nuclear power plant in north-eastern Japan, close to the epicentre of Friday's earthquake. Officials fear a meltdown at one of the plant's reactors. Tens of thousands of people in the surrounding area have been urged to evacuate

Noriyuki Shikata, deputy cabinet secretary for the Japanese prime minister tweets: " Blast was caused by accumulated hydrogen combined with oxygen in the space between container and outer structure. No damage to container."
 
Officials of the Indonesian Embassy in Tokyo told TV-One that there are around 20.000 Indonesian citizens living in Japan at the moment, and in order to know their condition the Embassy in Tokyo and Consulate General in Osaka have opened a hot line phone connection.

The Tsunami has triggered alert in countries located south of Japan like Taiwan, the Philippines and Indonesia, but no casualty was reported. And region in the Province of Papua was affected. While in Bitung, North Sulawesi the height of sea waves increase only 10 Centimeter above normal.

President SBY has expressed sympathy and condolence and offered assistance, while countries Australia and New Zealand have sent their rescue team.

In this connection I would like to express my condolence and deepest sympathy to the families of the victims.

The Runaway Governor of West Sumatra

The works of a governor of a province that has been struck by Tsunami must have been so frustrating that he wants to runaway from his responsibilities.

That's what I thought when I read the news about the Governor of West Sumatra Irwan Prayitno going to Germany although part of the province, the Islands of Mentawai is under the state of emergency after struck by Tsunami on Monday 25 October killing more than 400 people.

Please find below the story that I have quoted from The Jakarta Globe.

Breaking News: West Sumatra Governor Heads to Germany as Tsunami Disaster Continues 
Jakarta Globe November 03, 2010

                                   

Jakarta. As the Mentawai Islands continue to struggle to deal with the loss of life and emergency response in the wake of the tsunami disaster, West Sumatra Governor Irwan Prayitno has departed for Europe for unclear reasons.

Irman Gusman, head of Regional Representatives Council (DPD), confirmed on Wednesday that Irwan, a politician from the Prosperous Justice Party (PKS), had left Indonesia and was en route to Germany.
Read More ...

Earthquake and Tsunami in Mentawai

On Monday evening, an earthquake with a magnitude between 7.2 on the Richter Scale has struck the islands of Mentawai, West Sumatra.

According to VivaNews, the local authority has turned on Tsunami warning immediately after the earthquake, but since nothing happened after almost hour later it was turned off. However, later on it was reported that a Tsunami has struck the nearby island of Pagai.

According to Kompas,  112 people were reported dead, 502 people missing and thousand were evacuated from their homes. 9 Australian citizens who are visiting the area have been reported to be safe and sound. 

Considering the above, I would like to express my condolence and deepest deepest symphaty on those who have died, and hope that the missing people will soon be found.

Photo : Courtesy of Kompas.