Lesson that Indonesia never Tries to Learn after Earthquake: Earthquakeproofing our Houses and Buildings
After Aceh, Yogyakarta, West Java, it is now the turn of West Sumatra to suffer from the sudden quake. It is an accidental post I dedicate to the West Sumatra earthquake casualties. Actually I learned the news of the 7.6 earth quake hitting the city of Padang yesterday evening. I signed in for my twitter but what I found to read was Najwa Shihab's most recent tweet telling a major earthquake hitting the west part of Sumatra and a tsunami hitting the Pacific islands. I retweeted her tweet and went downstairs to find some TV stations airing news about the quake. I thought this must have been really massive, though it was not as massive as 2004 Aceh earthquake and tsunami disaster.
When the quake hit West Java, I just recalled my friends who are now teaching at Undip. They are Sundanese and I simply asked to one of them whether they and their family were OK or not. And a couple of seconds ago I just texted another friend of mine who happens to be a native of Padang. He works in Pontianak, Borneo but I am still waiting for his reply just in case something bad happens to his family.
So far, according to what I heard from the SCTV news anchor few minutes ago, the dead casualties number has reached 529, which covers the capital of West Sumatra and the surrounding area like Padang Pariaman which is told to be the nearest spot to the earthquake epicentrum.
And what makes me deeply concerned with the whole earthquake series is that as far as I am concerned there has been NO research or efforts conducted by Indonesian scientists or researchers to lessen the impact of earthquake. I think all Indonesian citizens know better than anyone else that they are living just near the Fire Ring where a series of great volcanoes exist and eternally moving plates of earth. There must be lots more earthquake like this or worse than this but why does the government seem to be ignorant of this? Living in a high-risk area does not mean we have to simply pray day and night so that the quake will not strike. We have got to do something about it. And waiting for the goverment's initiative is absolutely not an option. Either Indonesia is too large or our government is not quite responsive to deal with the aftermath consequences or even to give some tips to people on how to protect better their lives and properties from quake.
One of the doable efforts is socializing how to build a house that is relatively more earthquake-proof. So we at least contribute positively to our own safety. Never think that the government should take full responsibility of our own safety. It is now our turn to be a smart society that is more aware of the potential risks around us and equip ourselves with knowledge to prevent bigger loss in the future.
There are some great articles on ehow about making our house more earthquake-proof you may find useful if you think prevention is better than cure.
If earthquake is much too powerful enemy, then we have to be at least dead with our hardest fight. And our hardest fight is securing our lives.
(image taken from www.padangkini.com)
Labels: Padang earthquake |
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