Sunrise, Surf, and a Sudden Shake: The Day NUS Students Got a Real Wake‑Up Call
What started as a beach sunrise turned into a real‑life thriller
Picture this: a bunch of bright NUS students, coffee in hand, watching the golden rays creep over a Lombok beach. Then, the earth decided to make a dramatic entrance. They felt a low rumble, a hiss, a thud—later it turned out to be a 6.4‑magnitude quake that rattled the Indonesian island at 6:47 a.m. Sunday.
Quick Check‑In: “We Need to Move!”
The locals, experts or just quick‑wired people who know their islands, ran up and shouted—“Move inland! Tsunami alert!” (Seriously, do not talk to a tsunami in a hurry.)
Key Players
- Mohammad Azfar Saari – 23, student leader, who said: “We picked up a rumbling echo and the locals told us to head inland.”
- Mohammad Tahar Jumaat – 50, chaperone, who was inside a house during the tremor. He recalled, “The house shook so hard it rattled up to the electric poles!”
- IUVA Global – the facilitator who guided the trip. They commented that the students “were shaken at first, but settled down with a positive vibe.”
Impact Rundown
- At least 17 people lost their lives, including a brave Malaysian woman.
- Only one student trip group (20 in total—7 men & 13 women) survived unharmed.
- Group was from the NUS Muslim Society, “Labuan Pandan”—the beach spirit for community outreach.
What the Students Remember
“They were incredibly shaken, but later we got a huge pep talk from the director. There’s a lot of positive energy now,” said the facilitator.
The Aftermath: A New Chapter
Even in the face of a terrifying earthquake, the students found their footing again. They adapted quickly, leaned on the local wisdom, and proved they could thrive in uncertainty—somewhere between a sunrise, a beach day, and a moment of raw earth power.
A Wild, Unexpected Detour to Sembalun
Yesterday’s quake shook Lombok, turning the NUS students’ planned adventure into a real‑life B‑movie. With the earth doing its best impression of a wet‑dance, the group found themselves stranded between a broken bridge and a trembling sky.
“We Were Utterly Lost”
- Nadiah Afiqah Ismail (22): “I’ve never felt the ground wobble like that—everything felt totally alien. We just listened, hoped, and did what we were told.”
- The program (originally July 23–Aug 5) got cut short. A NUS spokesperson explained that today, arrangements were made to ferry everyone back to Singapore as a precaution.
It Was All About Survival… and Some Spotify Streaming
After the initial shock on Sunday, the team’s skipper Mohamad Tahar Jumaat decided to make a wild U‑turn. Rather than head to the airport and risk traffic chaos, he rolled the 90‑minute bus ride to Sembalun, a village tucked beside Mount Rinjani. His disaster‑relief instincts kicked in: “We scalped a safe spot because the relief agencies were already there. Food, shelter… you name it.”
Dealing with Devastation
On the way, the group saw the earth’s tantrum in stages—collapsing roofs, a shaky bridge that would crack if it got any heavier. Nadiah recalled, “The bridge was skinned, but we walked over it anyway. It felt like walking on ice – linguistically, that was almost the safest because extra weight could trigger a collapse.”
Communication Fallout
Labuan Pandan’s wires were dead. “I spent hours on a phone with no signal,” said Azfar. He finally confirmed to his sister that the quake was real and that the team was holding it together.
Sleeping Under a Sky of Stars
The night was spent in a tent‑camper camp in Sembalun, where the group hunkered down, learned to start a fire, and oddly enough, sang Sam Smith’s “Lay Me Down” in the middle of a village that had just been through a quake. “The music turned up the mood and helped us forget the chaos,” Nadiah mused. “We took distraction seriously because nothing was certain.”
Heading Back Home
They got a last‑minute flight to Lombok International Airport and are set to touch down in Singapore this afternoon. Future logs will hint at how the trip finally landed—figuratively and literally—in the city.
“We’re glad every single student is safe and well,” a NUS spokesman said. “We are relieved and thankful we’re all back, despite the odd detour.”
—Original source: The New Paper (license required for reproduction)
