Lessons from the quake

Lessons can be learnt from the strong earthquake which hit Jakarta Monday. The disaster left neither casualties nor serious construction damage but people -- who are always appreciative of such an outcome in any calamity -- were quick to express their gratitude to God.

The following day the topic on everyone's lips was their feeling of panic after the quake which registered 6.0 on the Richter scale -- a rare and electrifying experience.

But people's reaction did not stop there. As people of this spectacular planet we should ponder what wisdom can be learnt from such a calamity. Although the capital has never been rocked by a killer quake -- unlike some provinces -- nobody could guarantee that such a disaster would ever strike the city on a more disastrous magnitude.

Even scientists have not been able to protect us from the powerful forces of nature, much less predict such an event. This natural phenomenon is still entirely the prerogative of the Almighty.

But fortunately God is compassionate and merciful. He not only reminds us how limited our will and power are in facing the forces of nature, but he has given us the ability to cope with such calamities. The fact that we were safe and sound Monday does not mean that we should sit still and do nothing, the habitual inaction which has been part of our tradition in taking things for granted.

In recent cases of fire gutting high-rise buildings, we have shown our unpreparedness for disaster. We rarely conduct exercises or educate people on how to respond to such disasters. It is important that if a fire guts a high-rise building, we have the knowledge and expertise to deal with it and thereby save lives.

It is our lack of knowledge regarding disasters which is dangerous. Panic is heightened if people are not aware of how to react in a disaster and eventually people's ignorance will lead to a repulsive tendency to hide the results of our carelessness. The lack of professional ethics among officials in preparing people for disaster is nothing but a naked truth and one day the people will pay a high price for this.

Although earlier reports said no buildings had been seriously damaged by Monday's earthquake, serious investigation should be conducted to uncover the real impact of the disaster. Our buildings should also be evaluated to assess whether they have been constructed on the basis of a special design to withstand -- or at least minimize the damage of -- a more devastating earthquake.

This is no trivial job and the city administration needs to take stern measures against those who are reluctant to cooperate in such efforts.

We should take Monday's panic as the last warning because an earthquake cannot be predicted. If we cannot learn from our own experiences, we can learn from others who have suffered greatly from calamitous seismic activity.