Indonesia is not yet friendly to earthquake

Written by Achmad Uzair | 07 October 2009

This morning, my mother and I visited a neighbor whose daughter live in Padang, a city in West Sumatra hit by 7.6 Richter scale quake yesterday afternoon. We, ourselves, live in northern Java, an area which is said relatively save from earthquake. Our neighbor was kept crying during our visit remembering how difficult life must be now for her daughter and her two little children. She said that she couldn’t sleep all night long after watching TV reportage on the magnitude of the quake. Contact was tried to make, but in vain. Right in our visit, she received a call from her daughter telling her that they are alright.
With tears falling down on her cheeks, she told us, quoting her daughter’s story, that quake happens almost on everyday basis. “5.5 (Richter) scale is usual. It is just like sego jangan (Javanese term meaning everyday meals),” she said. Since it happens quite frequently, her daughter has her own way to deal with the quake and emergency rescue. “Her motorcycle is always parked outside, making it ready to use anytime. Her bag, with wallet and milk bottles for her 3 year old kid, is always hanging on the back of the entrance door,” she said, still with tears. Perhaps it is this personal rescue strategy that has saved her and her children from being quake victims.

While my neighbor’s daughter can survive with her own personal way, many others could not survive since personal rescue strategies simply did not work because of several reasons. Like the fact that many victims were being in multi-storey buildings or in particularly crowded place like traditional market where fast running to save oneself might not be possible. A TV programs aired scary footages showing the collapse of a multi-storey school where 60 children are believed dead under the ruins, and a hotel where 80 people were still trapped inside the rubbles. The latter building is said to be lack of emergency exit. Another TV station showed the collapses of traditional market buildings where many people are believed to be still inside there.

This is the third one in a month, following the quake that hit Tasikmalaya in the end of August and Bali several days after. Considering the fact that Indonesia is located on the meeting point of continuously moving lithospheres, it is a pity that there have been no enough efforts to mainstreaming rescue strategies in dealing the quake disaster. In fact, these institutionalized rescue strategies are quite important to save lives; so those who want to survive would no longer have to rely only on their own personal strategies and luck.

Death toll has increased to more than 530 casualties, increased triple from yesterday. Let’s pray that evacuation efforts would soon save those who are still trapped under the building rubbles.