Quake cracks to be checked

PADANG, West Sumatra: The National Atomic Energy Agency (Batan) plans to inspect cracks which developed in high-rise buildings after a major earthquake shook western Indonesia, including Jakarta, early last week.

Antara quoted A. Djaloeis, the deputy chairman of Batan for basic research and application, as saying here yesterday that the agency's nuclear technology, which uses gamma radiation, could detect cracks in reinforced concrete.

The gamma ray is a type of electromagnetic radiation that has a shorter wavelength and higher energy than the X-ray.

Jakarta, the western part of West Java and the southern part of South Sumatra were rocked by a 30-second earthquake, measuring 6 on the Richter scale, Monday last week.

The quake's epicenter was 33 kms beneath the Indian Ocean, some 300 kms southwest of Jakarta.

There were no reports of casualties following the quake but the worst hit was the southwestern part of West Java where several public facilities, including schools and places of worship, were damaged. (swe)