Sumatra quake danger to S'pore, Malaysia
Sumatra quake danger to S'pore, Malaysia
SINGAPORE (AFP): Skyscrapers in Singapore and Kuala Lumpur
would be at risk if a large temblor were to hit the Indonesian
island of Sumatra, which is vulnerable to earthquakes, an expert
warned in remarks published yesterday.
Pan Tso-Chien, an associate engineering professor at Nanyang
Technological University here, said there seemed to be a "total
lack of recognition of earthquake risks" in this city-state and
the Malaysian capital.
Building codes in Singapore and Kuala Lumpur had no earthquake
provisions although they are situated about 300-400 kilometers
from the quake-prone Great Sumatra Fault which runs the entire
length of Sumatra, he reportedly said.
The fault is capable of producing a large earthquake measuring
eight or more on the open-ended Richter scale, Business Times
daily quoted Pan as saying Wednesday at a seminar on catastrophic
risk management here.
"If such an earthquake should happen, tall buildings in Kuala
Lumpur and Singapore could possibly be adversely affected," the
expert said.
Pan, who teaches earthquake engineering, said because of high
population density Southeast Asians were subjected to "some
degree of earthquake hazard, " more than in other parts of the
world.
"Over 200 million people live in an area in which there is at
least one great earthquake every decade, a large earthquake every
year and perhaps a thousand small earthquakes, some of which
cause damage every year.
"The risk is not just to life but also to investments of
thousands of millions of dollars in commercial, industrial and
domestic developments," he warned.
Indonesia and the Philippines were more quake-prone than other
countries in the region so there was greater interest in the two
countries in controlling earthquake risks, Pan said.
Business Times said Singapore insurers were concerned about
the frequency of earthquakes in the region. The General Insurance
Association of Singapore was conducting a preliminary study on
earthquake risks here, it said.