Indonesia's seismicity (week 3)
This seismicity map of Indonesia shows the
frequency, ranging from blue to red (most frequent) in the country. In the red
area falls the epicenter of one of the deadliest earthquakes in history, the
2004 Sumatra-Andaman earthquake, the third largest ever recorded (9.1
magnitude) and longest ever observed (8-10 minutes). The earthquake and
resulting tsunamis killed an estimated 230,000 people across 14 countries.
Indonesia has already experienced four earthquakes today (February 14th)
as of 4:15 pm local time in Jakarta; and the country averages a death toll of
about 8,000 per year from natural disasters, falling masonry & collapsing
buildings being the main cause of injury and death.
What does Indonesia do to protect itself
from these disasters? In 1998 Indonesia created its first building codes but
they were not strongly adhered to. In 2002 a national law was passed to regulate
building, and it was revised in 2012 to establish a new national standard and
improve seismic resistance. The Seismic Resistance Design Standard for Buildings (SNI 03-1726-2012) is
Indonesia’s national building code and is implemented regionally. It is mainly
concerned with codes based on loads that can withstand seismic forces. However,
it is important to note that the code gives control over standards for lighting
and ventilation to local governments.
Indonesia also has a national earthquake risk map to show
the most at-risk or earthquake-prone areas in the country. Indonesia is still a
developing nation with widespread poverty, and there is still a large gap between
building design, construction, enforcement of the national earthquake resistant
building code, and struggle to implement these safety measures without
introducting completely new techniques. As associate professor in structural
and earthquake engineering at the University of Alaska Wael Hassan said, "A
good seismic design with poor construction and quality control won't help
resist the earthquake."
As a result
of the frequent earthquakes they experience, Indonesia also has an early tsunami
warning system consisting of 170 broadband stations, 238 accelerometer stations
and 137 tidal gauges. Unfortunately however, Indonesia’s earthquake and tsunami
center only has a maintenance budget for less than half of these.
Looking forward to reading more about those tsunami warnings systems this week in our forum...
ReplyDeleteHello Mary! I really appreciate the amount of statistics you used throughout your discussion. It was definitely a great informative post!
ReplyDelete