Rubberized base quake-proof: Study

BOGOR, West Java: A Bogor research center has long offered rubber technology to develop earthquake-resistant buildings.

Director of the Bogor Rubber Technology Research Center Dr. Krishna Surya Bhuana said here on Friday that the government should introduce rubber technology in construction to minimize fatalities during tremors.

"Rubber can be applied in the base isolation system to protect buildings, especially multi-storied ones in urban areas, from strong earthquakes," he said.

The application of rubber technology in construction projects is much needed because Indonesia is an archipelagic country prone to earthquakes, he said, referring to the recent tremor that devastated Nabire, Papua, and many others in Lampung, Bengkulu, West Java, East Nusa Tenggara, Papua and North Maluku.

The use of rubber technology in construction projects was first investigated in 1994. -- Antara