Indonesia
Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania, between the Indian Ocean, Indian and Pacific Ocean, Pacific oceans. Comprising over List of islands of Indonesia, 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, ...
n island of
North Pagai
North Pagai (Indonesian: ''Pagai Utara'') is the smallest of the four principal Mentawai Islands off the west coast of Sumatra in Indonesia. It is south of Sipora and north of South Pagai (or Pagai Selatan) Island.
The population figure given ...
, in the
Mentawai Islands
Mentawai may refer to:
* Mentawai Islands, Indonesia
** Mentawai Strait
** Mentawai people, ethnic group of Indonesia
** Mentawai language, their Austronesian language
{{dab
Language and nationality disambiguation pages ...
off
Sumatra
Sumatra () is one of the Sunda Islands of western Indonesia. It is the largest island that is fully within Indonesian territory, as well as the list of islands by area, sixth-largest island in the world at 482,286.55 km2 (182,812 mi. ...
. The sub-district contains both Sikakap and Matobe, while Sikakap village incorporates the hamlets of Central Sikakap, East Sikakap and Sibaibai. Overall, the total population was 3,194 as of 2016. Also part of the sub-district is the Sikakap Strait between North and
South Pagai
South Pagai (Indonesian: ''Pagai Selatan'') is one of the Mentawai Islands of the west coast of Sumatra in Indonesia. The island is south of North Pagai (or Pagai Utara) Island. The population figure given for South Pagai (box to the right) refer ...
West Sumatra
West Sumatra () is a Provinces of Indonesia, province of Indonesia. It is on the west coast of the island of Sumatra and includes the Mentawai Islands off that coast. West Sumatra borders the Indian Ocean to the west, as well as the provinces of ...
's
fishing industry
The fishing industry includes any industry or activity that takes, cultures, processes, preserves, stores, transports, markets or sells fish or fish products. It is defined by the Food and Agriculture Organization as including recreational, sub ...
.
History
Dutch colonisation came relatively late to the Mentawai Islands. As Dutch officials had little interest in them, they called upon the
Rhenish Missionary Society
The Rhenish Missionary Society (''Rhenish'' of the river Rhine; , ''RMG'') was one of the largest Protestant missionary society, missionary societies in Germany. Formed from smaller missions founded as far back as 1799, the Society was amalgamate ...
to begin the "civilisation" process. To that end, a German missionary, A. Lett, was appointed at Sikakap in 1901. His missionaries established a school nearby. From this initial settlement, the Dutch expanded into the other Mentawai Islands.
There was a magnitude 7.5 tsunami in the area on 6 February 1908.
Surrounding forests have been the site of heavy
logging
Logging is the process of cutting, processing, and moving trees to a location for transport. It may include skidder, skidding, on-site processing, and loading of trees or trunk (botany), logs onto logging truck, trucksTuapeijat, is one of the only places in the Mentawai Islands where electricity and telecommunications are available. There is a hospital and a church in the village, as well as a harbor (the main transport hub in the Mentawai islands) and a district police station. The primary transport connection is a twice-weekly ferry, the KMP Ambu-ambu, which runs between Sikakap and
Padang
Padang () is the Capital city, capital and largest city of the Indonesian Provinces of Indonesia, province of West Sumatra. It had a population of 833,562 at the 2010 CensusBiro Pusat Statistik, Jakarta, 2011. and 909,040 at the 2020 Census;Bad ...
. In 2007,
Surfing Magazine
''Surfing Magazine'', originally titled ''International Surfing Magazine'', was a magazine that was founded in 1964 by Orange County, California, local Dick Graham and surf photographer LeRoy Grannis. Later the magazine was acquired by Adrian B. ...
described the sub-district as a "regular re-fuelling spot for charter boats".
2010 earthquake and tsunami
Sikapap served as a centre for relief operations related to the
2010 Mentawai earthquake and tsunami
The 2010 Mentawai earthquake occurred with a Moment magnitude scale, moment magnitude of 7.8 on 25 October off the western coast of Sumatra at 21:42 local time (14:42 UTC). The earthquake occurred on the same fault that produced the 2004 Indian O ...
. Eyewitnesses reported that waves up to high hit the sub-district. Relief agencies and a government command post were based there during the crisis, as it is the largest village on
Sipura
Sipora ( Indonesian: ''Sipora'' or sometimes spelled ''Sipura'') located off Sumatra in the West Sumatra Province of Indonesia, is the second-smallest and most developed of the four Mentawai Islands at only 620.73 km2. It had a population o ...
and Pagai. Over 200 people sought assistance at the local hospital, more than it could take, and the local church was converted into a makeshift medical center. Military supplies for the hospital began arriving on 30 October. A month later, displaced people were still living in tents in Sikakap, leading the government to announce the construction of 16 homes there, as 17 had been heavily damaged.
References
Further reading
*
External links
* {{YouTube, id=60kFXXR6x9A, title=Video showing the streets of Sikakap
Mentawai Islands Regency