Jarang ada sejarah yang tersingkap bagaikan dongeng. Namun, coba bayangkan ini: Sebuah kapal dagang Portugal abad ke-16 membawa harta dalam bentuk emas dan gading. Dalam perjalanan menuju pelabuhan rempah-rempah terkenal di pantai India, kapal ini tersingkir jauh dari lintasan

Di masa lalu yang bergelimang air, pemburu, petani, bahkan gajah hidup di sini.

Angin purba bertiup dari sebuah tempat yang disebut masa lalu. Dalam benak kita, Gurun Sahara adalah neraka abadi berisi bukit-bukit pasir berpayung langit biru. Kita mengagumi panoramanya, tetapi tidak menghargai gurun tersebut sebagai salah satu lokasi penyimpan sejarah nan akbar di Bumi.

The earthquakes in the South Pacific occurred in a region of extraordinary geological activity called the Ring of Fire, which stretches from Indonesia to the coast of Chile. Several tectonic plates converge and create enormous pressure in the Earth's crust. Nine out of 10 earthquakes in the world happen in the region.

It is unlikely the two latest earthquakes are connected, according to seismologists. They were caused by slippages in faults that took place 16 hours and 10,000km apart on two different tectonic plates.

The first earthquake, recorded as magnitude 8.0, happened on Tuesday at 6.48am local time around 200km off the coasts of Samoa and Tonga. Because the earthquake was only 10km beneath the Earth's surface, it caused the seafloor to deform, triggering a tsunami that battered the Samoan capital of Apia.