It is only a matter of a few years before the next major earthquake strikes East Asia and the Pacific. It is only a few decades, at most, before a major earthquake occurs near a metropolitan area. The region is generally not prepared for such an event but much can be done before a disaster strikes.
Recent earthquakes throughout the region have shown that critical public (and private) buildings and infrastructure are vulnerable to major damage and collapses. That includes both older and new structures. A clear example is the West Sumatra (near Padang), Indonesia earthquake of 2007. It had a magnitude of only 6.3 but caused 66 fatalities, 500 casualties, and severe damage or collapse of nearly 15,000 buildings. About 44,000 structures sustained damage; 60% of the buildings had medium to severe damage. As a result, over 135,000 people were displaced. About 300 school buildings collapsed and another 400 had moderate to severe damage. These are very high numbers for such a moderate earthquake in an area with a long history of much larger earthquakes. With the exception of Japan and New Zealand, the countries of the region have initiated limited programs to strengthen and protect older, and many new buildings and infrastructure. One of the largest is the strengthening of several hundred bridges in the Philippines following the 1990 Luzon earthquake. China, following several destructive earthquakes since 1976 has strengthened to various criteria buildings with over 220 million square meters
Monday, 1 November 2010
It Is Not Too Late: Preparing for Asia’s Next Big Earthquake - Disaster Prevention & Response
