Learning from Recent Indonesian Earthquakes: An Overview to Improve Structural Performance

Abstract eng:
In the last four years, Indonesia has experienced numerous major earthquakes, from the 2004 Aceh, 2005 Nias, 2006 Pangandaran and Yogyakarta, and lastly 2007 Bengkulu and West Sumatra earthquakes. The number of casualties and economic loss due to these earthquakes were very high, mostly due to damage and collapse of buildings and infrastructures. The paper presents an overview of structural damage found in recent Indonesian earthquakes. Most of the structural problems found were related to minimum reference to standards/codes. In the case of newly reconstructed structures, with the high demand of structures and the limited time frame, replacement structures are being built in a short time using any available resources. As a result, the reconstruction efforts can be easily shifted towards the quantity of structures, making the aimed quality in buildings and infrastructures sometimes overlooked. Considering the future seismic risk in the region, it is necessary to ensure the structural quality and earthquake resistance of both existing and newly reconstructed structures in Indonesia. Therefore, several applicable solutions to improve the structural quality and reduce earthquake vulnerability are presented in this article. It should be understood that efforts to improve structural quality and reduce earthquake vulnerability of structures involve all parties in the area, from government, society, experts, as well as construction professionals and workers. To minimize losses, efforts should be done to raise earthquake awareness in the communities. Improvement of earthquake risk perception for all parties in building construction, including government officers, is necessary for earthquake mitigation efforts.

• Export as: BibTeX | MARC | MARCXML | DC | EndNote | NLM | RefWorks
• Add to your basket