Nias in danger: “It is a complete disaster,” say locals
They are placing concrete and rocks in the middle of the reef, risking deforming one of the best waves in the world
The famously perfect waves of Lagundri Bay on the tiny island of Nias, Indonesia, are in serious danger, if not already permanently affected, by an unclear construction project, reported the American website Surfline, based on statements from a local who preferred not to be identified.
As you can see in the photos, they are filling in part of the rocks and the reef that borders where the right breaks. This is happening a month after they have placed a parking lot and an adjacent road.
“They started with a small piece of land that they had originally talked about. Now the reef is a mix of rocks and cement and a sticky red dirt. They have been pouring cement on the reef like crazy. There is a big mountain of rocks where everyone comes out of the water, at high tide the waves hit the rocks and they have nowhere to go.
“There have been trucks coming to the reef dumping rocks and dirt every day. And it was all horrible but now they have started to work on another big part of the beach. They are placing rocks at the other end of the beach, they are going deep into the reef creating the potential for backwash when big waves come in,” the source added.
“Clearly there are more people involved than the local government. They have brought in giant machines that we have never seen in Nias before. There is a cement truck, a bulldozer with which they create giant cement blocks. Nobody knows what the plan is, it is a complete mess,” he concluded.
There was a visit from senior government officials last Tuesday, one of the visitors was the Minister of Law and Human Rights, Professor Yasonna Laoly who is the first cabinet member to be from Nias. He was confronted by a surfing tourist who said to him: “Everyone is telling you not to build this. All the surfers, because if you ruin this wave, there will be no more tourism.”
The authority responded, in front of many people, trying to calm them down but without giving explanations.
Locals are collecting signatures to stop this from happening again.
The first ever QS 10 to be held in Nias will begin on September 3000, although it is not known whether the works are related to the tournament.
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Related Notes:
Ship collapsed under the force of Nias
There were no human casualties (so far) on one of the most gigantic and perfect days in the history of the wave
