Final Blog Post
Indonesia’s geographical location puts it at major risk for a variety of natural disasters. These disasters, such as volcanic eruptions, earthquakes, tsunamis and floods have claimed the lives of hundreds of thousands of people in just the last few decades and caused immense infrastructural and economic damage that will affect generations to come.
Indonesia falls on the meeting point of several tectonic plates. It is located between two continental plates, the Eurasian plate and the Indo-Australian plate, and two oceanic plates, the Philippine plate and the Pacific plate. Due to the combination of its plate boundaries and location on the Pacific Ring of Fire, high tectonic activity is an ever-present risk that all Indonesians live with. Earthquakes are probably the biggest natural threat to Indonesia, given that they, unlike volcanoes, can strike at any time, any location and with almost zero warning. The country experiences roughly magnitude 5 earthquakes almost daily, and on average experiences one earthquake with a magnitude of 6 or higher that can cause serious damage and/or fatalities. The country averages about 8,000 deaths per year related to earthquakes and collapsing buildings. Indonesia experienced the longest (8-10 minutes) and third largest earthquake ever recorded in 2004 when a 9.1 magnitude quake struck off the west coast of the country, the tremors and resulting tsunamis killing an estimated 230,000 people across 14 countries and making it one of the deadliest in history.
It is important to note that as a developing country with widespread poverty, a large number of these casualties are a result of poor infrastructure. While there are national building codes that were put in place in 2012, they are not strongly adhered to and government enforcement varies regionally. The codes focus mainly on building infrastructure that can withstand seismic forces. There is a large gap however between building design, its construction and the enforcement of the earthquake resistance standards. Many are too poor to adopt new building techniques.
The country also has a national earthquake risk map to show the areas that are most at risk, but this information may not be easily accessible for everyone. As a result of the earthquakes there is also an early tsunami warning system, though unfortunately the country’s earthquake and tsunami center has a maintenance budget for less than half of its broadband stations, accelerometer stations and tidal gauges.
The nature and suddenness of earthquakes and the relatively small size of the country would mean that help is required everywhere. There is not higher ground that you can escape to, there is no volcano spewing ash on the cusp of eruption that you have time to get away from. There are two options: stronger infrastructure and living inland. I think it should be a priority for the government to enforce infrastructure rules and regulations strictly and at a national level. Indonesians need to be informed properly about the potentially life-saving benefits of choosing new, advanced building technology that can and should be more affordable for everyone. The resulting tsunamis cannot be stopped, but they can be detected and avoided if one lives inland at least 10 miles and away from the at-risk areas. Looking at current death tolls due to earthquakes and the subsequent tsunamis, budgeting for these detection systems should be of utmost importance to the Indonesian government.
I would build my house inland in the central Kalimantan region on the island of Borneo, which (though it is in close proximity to the highly affected islands such as Java, Sumatra and Sulawesi) is outside the Ring of Fire and does not experience earthquakes, volcanic eruptions or other similar natural disasters nearly as often. To be safe I would still ensure that my house was up to date with all national infrastructure regulations.
Thank you for taking this class with us. I hope you enjoyed while learning about natural hazards in the world and Indonesia (I know I did)!
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