BMKG Calls Building Concepts In Indonesia Bad And Not Ready For Disasters

House Affected by Earthquake/Photo: Antara

JAKARTA - Head of the Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency (BMKG), Dwikorita Karnawati, said the poor concept of building and spatial planning for residential areas is proof that the community is not ready to face disasters.

"It is not an earthquake that causes casualties or injuries in every incident. But it was a result of the building being crushed", said Dwikorita in a written statement from the BMKG, Saturday, January 29.

Dwikorita said that the dynamics of erratic seismicity coupled with the spatial layout of settlements that were not well designed and adaptive to disasters could worsen conditions for the community due to the impact of the earthquake.

Based on the results of a study conducted by BMKG, the cause of the collapse of the building other than the location of the location which is above the soil layer with a soft soil classification (SE) is the construction of buildings that do not meet the standards of resistance to earthquakes.

For example, there was an earthquake with a magnitude of 6.6 in Pandeglang Regency, Banten, last Friday, January 14. The damage to the buildings at the scene was quite severe.

The damage to many buildings was then exacerbated by public panic due to a lack of knowledge and skills to anticipate and deal with disasters.

According to her, this picture has proven that Indonesia is not ready to face a big earthquake that could happen at any time. Therefore, planning and development concepts are needed that are taken into account both in terms of potential risks, impacts, and hazards of the disaster in an area.

"The picture of the panicked attitude of the community brings its own message, especially for stakeholders, professional building associations and related ministries, regarding the need for regional understanding, especially those that have the potential to become affected areas", she asserted.

Dwikorita considered that to build awareness, preparedness, and mitigate structurally and culturally against the earthquake and tsunami disaster in the community, it needs to continue to be increased through the active participation of the Pentahelix relationship of all parties.

In this case, he requested that the Association of Indonesian Construction Experts (HAKI) can participate in solving the problem by providing an understanding of the need to tighten the application of regulations for the construction of earthquake-resistant buildings, S in areas or zones that have the potential to be affected by the activities of an earthquake source.

“I hope that intellectual property rights can work together and collaborate in providing positive recommendations to local governments so that they can be immediately integrated into concrete policies. Bearing in mind that disaster mitigation measures and systems are the authority and responsibility of regional or city governments by Permendagri Number 101 of 2018", she concluded.