Earthquake preparation pays off for Indonesian village

Most houses were damaged by the recent earthquake, north of Padang in the village of Mangopo, however there were no victims. "Everyone reacted very quickly because of the training and that's why no one died in that village" said Malka Older of Mercy Corps Indonesia, which helped train Mangopo and other villages at risk.

"Other nearby villages that weren't part of the programme suffered fatalities" she said. The training was in preparation for the risk of tsunami.

"The fact that so many buildings collapsed in Padang, which caused most of the deaths, is an indicator of poor preparation by a highly vulnerable city" said Sanny Jegillos, a regional coordinator for crisis prevention for the UN Development Programme in Bangkok.