page_title: Omo sebua
section_title: 2005 Earthquake damage
hierarchical_section_title: Omo sebua / 2005 Earthquake damage
caption_attribution_description: English: Traditional house we found at our trip to Gomo, Nias, Indonesia.
context_page_description: The Omo sebua is a traditional house style of the Nias people from Nias island, Indonesia. They are built only for the houses of village's chiefs. Situated in the centre of a village, omo sebua are built on massive ironwood piles and have towering roofs. Nias culture, with former frequent inter-village warfare, has made the design of omo sebua impregnable to attack. The houses' sole access is through a narrow staircase with a small trap door above. The steeply pitched roofs can reach 16 metres in height. Apart from a strong defense against enemies, omo sebua have proven earthquake resistance.
context_section_description: The December 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami caused (only) coastal damage to Nias, but the March 2005 Nias earthquake had a devastating effect on the island. More than 80% of modern public buildings were destroyed. Traditional homes were more earthquake-resistant and most survived.
  Reconstruction efforts were hampered by the death of many traditional craftsmen, and the fact that NGOs lacked knowledge of Niasian building methods. The cost of repairing damaged traditional homes was estimated to be similar to building new ones, because collapsing support pillars meant that the house had to be dismantled and reconstructed.
  NGO house designs were typically smaller than traditional ones, and lacked many elements that were fundamental to Nias' culture.
caption: Another Omo sebua in Gomo, Nias.
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