Indonesian Earthquake

[Constantina 5]

Hi,

I have just heard on BBC News 24 about a new earthquake hitting Java, an island in Indonesia. officials said that over 2,700 people have been killed.

The Earthquake hit at about 12:53am London time and the epicentre was at a town called Bantul.

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I'm sure this earthquake must be quite horrible. What do you think?

[Joesocwork 4]

Thanks for bringing it up Constantina. They're certainly in our individual and collective thoughts and prayers.

If any Members are affected pls feel free to share with the Community as much as you feel comfortable!

[mambomumba 8]

It's terrible with all those earthquakes and tsunamis that kills so many people. There must be a way to protect the people living in those areas. Almost everytime it's Indonesia who suffers most. Once again, it's terrible.

[tag_one 133]

I'm glad this earthquake didn't caused any tsunami's but 2700 death is very much for an earthquake of only 5.9

[PhilsCafe 8]

That's horrible news.

@ tag_one: Well, the area obviously is quite densely populated and building structures are also an important factor (most of the victims are buried under debris). In that region, earthquake restistant construction is quite uncommon I guess. Besides, it also depends how close to the earth's crust that the center of the quake was. Considering that a volcano threatened to break out there this week it probably was very close to the surface.

[Micah 16]

The death toll is at 2,900 now and the earthquake is now believed to be a 6.4.

I'm praying for these people because I hope it doesn't turn out to be another 2004 disaster.

[tag_one 133]

6.4, that's much havier than 5.9. terrible that those people don't have the money to build an earthquake resistent house

[Micah 16]

Well, I never like disasters, but maybe because of these earthquakes and tsunamis, it will cause Indonesia to become much more industrailized and will cause them to build large tsunami walls, earthquake proof houses, and a warning system for tsunamis.

[PhilsCafe 8]

We should never forget that in some parts of the world, people can't afford to live with a certain standard. Tsunami warning systems aren't that difficult to build. A good result can be achieved by relatively humble means. But earthquake resistant construction is a different story. You need to have the funds, the know-how and the will for changes. And that's unfortunately quite difficult to achieve all over the country.

But I agree, hopefully safety is getting more important now among a majority of the people.

[Micah 16]

I know what you mean Philscafe, but Indonesia is not a 3rd-world country (to not be politically correct, developing country) at all. In fact, Indonesia is one of the most contributing members in OPEC which means they recieve billions of dollars each year from oil. I'm not saying the people themselves should build earthquake resistant homes, but their own government which is holding back the money their people need.

I definitely agree with you, they don't have the will to change. I'm glad to hear that Indonesia, Thailand, India, and a few other countries are actually working together to get a warning system in the Indian Ocean in case of tsunamis.

Edit: Sorry, I mean the government isn't 3rd world while its people do live in 3rd world standards.

[PhilsCafe 8]

I think what you say in your 'edit' line is exactly the point (I was indeed referring to the people, sorry if I didn't made myself clear). The majority of the people live in bad conditions and they probably don't care if their houses are earthquake resistant or not. They normally have other troubles than that (e.g. work, food, health). Sure, the government certainly has the funds and the know-how (or at least the funds to purchase the required know-how), but they can't get through all classes of the population...

Even though, natural hazards like that can't be prevented, only their consequences can be reduced.

[Constantina 5]

That's right. To save more lives, you need swift action and Olympic standard reaction (kind of, anything that is quick as possible).

The latest Earthquake tolls:

The death toll is around 4,295

The Injury toll is around 20,000

The homeless toll is around 130,000

quote>

According to the UN, they said that there was a race against time to save lives affected by the quake.

I am wondering about the consequences if Mount Merapi erupts.

[Micah 16]

Well, I think instead of sending supplies to those people, they need to start evacuating them from that section of Java and relocate them to a temporary place and then they can start giving them their needed supplies.

[Bach2Baroque 168]

Its hard to move a chunk of victims to another place, especially when the victims themselves refuse to move. And not to mention most people in the Java area are still living in a 'native' mind, means they're not too comfortable with foreign people.

I can't imagine what will happen in the next few years if these monster-earthquakes & tsunami increases, probably the whole south-east Asia would be flooded.

[Constantina 5]

I also understand that ceratin amount of people in Java may have been used to their homeland for generations, too. But one or two locations may have been overdue for a large earthquake.  one I know of is San Francisco in North America

[Micah 16]

Its hard to move a chunk of victims to another place, especially when the victims themselves refuse to move. And not to mention most people in the Java area are still living in a 'native' mind, means they're not too comfortable with foreign people. quote>

Not really... ever heard of Katrina & New Orleans? Also, the Indonesian goverment doesn't care because they moved (forcefully) 2 million just over 5 years ago...