Experts warn Jakarta not ready for big quake<\/p>\n
Zakki Hakim, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta<\/p>\n
A earthquake on Wednesday jolted Jakarta and raised concerns
\nthat tall buildings in the capital city could be very vulnerable
\nto larger earthquakes, experts said.<\/p>\n
\"Most buildings in Jakarta are not ready to deal with big
\nearthquakes,\" Heru Sri Naryanto, a senior official in the Agency
\nfor the Assessment and Application of Technology (BPPT) told The
\nJakarta Post on Friday.<\/p>\n
An earthquake measuring 5.5 on the Richter scale, with an
\nepicenter about 300 kilometers southwest of the capital, hit on
\nWednesday afternoon. No damage or fatalities were reported here.<\/p>\n
Many Jakartans were unaware of the jolt, which according to
\nthe National Earthquake Center (PGN) lasted for about 30 seconds
\nat 2:40 p.m.<\/p>\n
The tremor was felt mainly by those working or residing in
\ntall buildings.<\/p>\n
Naryanto, head of the BPPT's Disaster Mitigation Technology
\nDepartment, said that if a big earthquake had its epicenter near
\nJakarta, many tall buildings in Jl. Thamrin and Jl. Sudirman,
\nboth in Central Jakarta, would likely collapse.<\/p>\n
\"Old buildings such as the Sarinah building, the Chandra
\nbuilding and Ministry of Religious Affairs building could not
\nstand earthquakes for long, because the land has become weak over
\nthe years,\" he said.<\/p>\n
He said that the land had lost its strength because of
\nenormous groundwater depletion.<\/p>\n
But after all, he said, it all depends on the people. The
\nsociety should have higher awareness about the importance of the
\nunderground water reservoirs. The building owners and managers
\nshould prioritize the physical safety of their property. The city
\nadministration should be harsher in supervising and monitoring
\nthe safety standard of every building.<\/p>\n
Placidus Petrus, country coordinator for the National Fire
\nProtection Association (NFPA), an international codes and
\nstandards organization, told the Post that many buildings in the
\ncity did not meet the minimum international safety standards, let
\nalone earthquake standards.<\/p>\n
\"The building owners often neglect the standard of pipe
\ninstallments, therefore they ignore the risk calculation of an
\nearthquake,\" he said.<\/p>\n
Earthquakes usually cause fractures in building foundations,
\ncrack walls and destroy carelessly installed pipes, which could
\ncause many fires, and create more casualties in a disaster, he
\nsaid.<\/p>\n
He warned that malls around the city were not safe either.<\/p>\n
\"Mall builders always propose excellent designs with good
\nsafety standards, but when it comes to implementation, the
\nstandards are forgotten,\" he said.<\/p>\n
In addition earthquake safety standards were rarely even
\nconsidered and \"smaller\" disasters like a fire was considered
\nminor by the management, he said.<\/p>\n
He suggested that visitors should always be alert in every
\nbuilding, especially in malls, and always memorize the emergency
\nexit routes because the security guards in those places are not
\nready to deal with evacuations, he said.<\/p>",
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