President Obama is here!

I got to see in MetroTV (the most watched channel for news here) live when the US President arrived here, plus watch the press conference alive! Earlier today I had asked my research team how Indonesian president Yudhoyono is so tall, much taller than average Indonesians. The answer was that he is a military man. But, today when he was standing next to Obama, he did not look that tall any more.

OCHA has weekly meetings here for organisation helping in Mentawai. There were many organisations sharing what do in Mentawai. One explained setting up a warehouse and providing it with all kinds of stuff needed. Most of the talk was in Indonesian. But, the research team made contact with four NGOs; and we will interview some of them for our evaluation. It may seem strange to be here and not to help Mentawai, but my purpose for being here to do evaluation of the disaster preparedness of this area. This coastal area is vulnerable, and looks like residents at the Sumatra coast still do not know their evacuation routes in case sea water level rises. There is a senior high school only 600 meters from the beach, and there is not yet a evacuation center for them. It is under construction though.