Sumatra quake danger to S'pore, Malaysia<\/p>\n
SINGAPORE (AFP): Skyscrapers in Singapore and Kuala Lumpur
\nwould be at risk if a large temblor were to hit the Indonesian
\nisland of Sumatra, which is vulnerable to earthquakes, an expert
\nwarned in remarks published yesterday.<\/p>\n
Pan Tso-Chien, an associate engineering professor at Nanyang
\nTechnological University here, said there seemed to be a \"total
\nlack of recognition of earthquake risks\" in this city-state and
\nthe Malaysian capital.<\/p>\n
Building codes in Singapore and Kuala Lumpur had no earthquake
\nprovisions although they are situated about 300-400 kilometers
\nfrom the quake-prone Great Sumatra Fault which runs the entire
\nlength of Sumatra, he reportedly said.<\/p>\n
The fault is capable of producing a large earthquake measuring
\neight or more on the open-ended Richter scale, Business Times
\ndaily quoted Pan as saying Wednesday at a seminar on catastrophic
\nrisk management here.<\/p>\n
\"If such an earthquake should happen, tall buildings in Kuala
\nLumpur and Singapore could possibly be adversely affected,\" the
\nexpert said.<\/p>\n
Pan, who teaches earthquake engineering, said because of high
\npopulation density Southeast Asians were subjected to \"some
\ndegree of earthquake hazard, \" more than in other parts of the
\nworld.<\/p>\n
\"Over 200 million people live in an area in which there is at
\nleast one great earthquake every decade, a large earthquake every
\nyear and perhaps a thousand small earthquakes, some of which
\ncause damage every year.<\/p>\n
\"The risk is not just to life but also to investments of
\nthousands of millions of dollars in commercial, industrial and
\ndomestic developments,\" he warned.<\/p>\n
Indonesia and the Philippines were more quake-prone than other
\ncountries in the region so there was greater interest in the two
\ncountries in controlling earthquake risks, Pan said.<\/p>\n
Business Times said Singapore insurers were concerned about
\nthe frequency of earthquakes in the region. The General Insurance
\nAssociation of Singapore was conducting a preliminary study on
\nearthquake risks here, it said.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/sumatra-quake-danger-to-spore-malaysia-1447893297",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
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