Jakarta buildings can only withstand mild quakes
Jakarta buildings can only withstand mild quakes
Damar Harsanto, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
While many Jakartans are working out how they can best help the
victims of the latest deadly earthquake on the Nias and Simeulue
islands off North Sumatra, others are worrying what would happen
if a similar-sized quake hit the capital.
And the prognosis, according to some is not good.
The bad news is that most, if not all, high-rise buildings in
the city are designed to withstand relatively mild shakes only
thanks to the Indonesian National Standards (SNI) regulation that
classes Jakarta as a low-risk area for serious temblors.
"We have required all high rise buildings in the city to abide
by the SNI. But, of course, these buildings will only withstand
mild quake. A shallow quake with magnitude of, let's say, 5 on
the Richter scale is enough to put Jakarta buildings in great
danger of collapse should the epicenter be close to the city or
right under the capital," City Construction Supervision and
Regulation Agency Djumhana Tjakrawirja told The Jakarta Post.
Djumhana said fatalities would be at a maximum as "most
Jakarta residents have yet to familiarize themselves with life-
saving procedures in the event of an earthquake."
The latest major tremor to jolt Jakarta occurred on Oct. 25,
2000, when a 6.5 magnitude earthquake centered offshore from the
capital, sent people running out of homes, offices, shopping
centers, hotels and apartments.
The deep quake, centered between 33 kilometers and 60
kilometers beneath the Indian Ocean, left some cracks on building
walls and window glass but killed and injured no one. Similar
non-fatal shakes happened on March 17, 1997 and Dec. 19, 1999.
Indonesian Architect Association Jakarta chairman Bambang
Eryudhawan said most architects involved in the construction of
high rise buildings in the capital were aware of the earthquake
issue.
"The administration is pretty tight in monitoring of quake
standards used for high rise buildings as required by the SNI,"
he told the Post.
Bambang said most high rise buildings in the city could
withstand earthquakes measuring up to 6.0 on the Richter scale.
"Some architects are so worried they have set a higher
standard to weather stronger tremors," he said.
Bambang said, however, the administration did need to carry
out more earthquake training and civil defense exercises.
"At least, we could minimize fatalities and injuries in such
an incident," he said.
Survival tips during a strong earthquake
1. Don't panic
2. Get outside to an open space if possible
3. If you can't, shelter under strong structures, door frames, or
heavy tables to protect you from falling debris.
4. Face away from windows, they are likely to shatter.
5. Keep to the corners of buildings or narrow rooms, such as
bathrooms.
6. A recent report advises people to lie beside large solid
objects where "survival spaces" are likely to form.