Dealing with disaster<\/p>\n
Located in one of the most active volcanic belts in the world,
\nIndonesia is no stranger to earthquakes and the devastation which
\nthey bring about. In fact, when we include the very mild tremors
\nthat nobody finds worth a moment's thought, earthquakes are said
\nto be daily occurrences in this sprawling archipelago of more
\nthan 17,000 islands.<\/p>\n
And yet every time disaster strikes a certain area we ask
\nourselves whether something can't be done to lighten, if not
\nprevent, the suffering which earthquakes cause. In the latest
\npowerful one which hit the Kerinci regency in Jambi province on
\nthe island of Sumatra during the weekend, 79 people were reported
\nto have died. At least 737 people were reported to have been
\nbadly injured and 1,520 suffered light injuries. Thousands of
\nbuildings were reported to have been destroyed and the number of
\npeople made homeless is legion.<\/p>\n
According to a local resident who called this newspaper by
\nhand phone from the disaster site, the Kerinci earthquake struck
\nwhile people were still asleep and hardly had time to flee their
\nhomes to safer areas. Communications with the world outside were
\npractically cut off. With the definite body count still vague as
\narmy personnel continued to search under the rubble for more
\nvictims yesterday, people continued to live in fear of
\naftershocks.<\/p>\n
If all this has a familiar ring, the reason is quite obvious.
\nIn February last year an earthquake of a somewhat lesser
\nmagnitude -- 6.5 on the Richter scale compared to 7.0 for
\nSaturday's tremor -- struck the Liwa area, West Lampung Regency,
\nin southern Sumatra, killing 201 people and injuring almost
\n2,000. The Lampung earthquake destroyed about 80 percent of the
\nbuildings in and around the village Liwa, cut off the water
\nsupply and totally disrupted communications for several days. The
\nworst killer earthquake to have struck this country in the past
\nfew years occurred in December 1992 on the island of Flores in
\nEast Nusa Tenggara Province. In this disaster some 2,000 people
\nwere killed.<\/p>\n
We could go on listing the various cataclysmic quakes that
\nhave occurred in this country in the past. The more important
\npoint, however, is the one contained in the question already
\ncited: how to minimize the suffering which natural disasters such
\nas earthquakes bring about? Scientific and technological progress
\nnotwithstanding -- it is still impossible to predict with any
\ndegree of precision when or where a disaster is going to strike
\n-- the next best thing to do would be to improve our relief
\norganization.<\/p>\n
We have no doubt that in every case the authorities do the
\nvery best they can to make life for the surviving victims as
\nbearable as is possible under the circumstances. Yet it still
\nseems that any new major natural disaster takes us more or less
\nby surprise. It would without doubt be helpful if the
\nmobilization of assistance could be carried out more swiftly. Or
\nif more stand-by supplies were kept on hand. Or perhaps greater
\ncommunity or volunteer participation is called for.<\/p>\n
The point is: in a country such as ours it certainly seems
\nworth the effort to do everything we can to be prepared to move
\nswiftly and effectively in case disaster strikes.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/dealing-with-disaster-1447893297",
"image": ""
},
"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
}