Revitalizing disaster management April 29, 2007
Posted by dionsiringo in Disaster Mitigation, Indonesiana, opinion.add a comment
It seems every story about Indonesia recently involves a disaster. With alarming speed, we have replaced such countries as the Philippines, Nepal and Bangladesh as the most disaster-prone nation in the world. Indonesia, however, is not alone in facing natural disasters. Globally, the number of environmental calamities is rising, mostly owing to an increase in floods.
For the period of 1994-2003, the International Council for Science found floods were the most common natural hazard, making up 33 percent of disasters. Storms were next at 23 percent, epidemics at 15.2 percent, droughts at 15 percent and earthquakes at 7 percent. The remaining disasters included tsunamis, landslides and volcanic eruptions. Hazards related to extreme weather conditions occurred most frequently and often affected the largest areas.
In disaster science, the paradigm is now shifting from knowing that rivers flood to understanding how a flood can cause so much damage. Human beings, not nature, are the cause of disaster losses. It is unrealistic to think that we can engineer the earth to stop disasters, but it is possible to adjust human behavior to reduce their risk.
Indonesia has long recognized the importance of having a disaster management organization….read complete article
Living with and learning from earthquake April 29, 2007
Posted by dionsiringo in Disaster Mitigation, Earthquake, Indonesiana, opinion.add a comment
The two major earthquakes that have struck Indonesia recently caused damage beyond imagination. In 2004 the Aceh earthquake triggered the largest tsunami in modern history. Last month’s quake in Yogyakarta may be not as huge in magnitude as other great historic earthquakes, but the area affected was extensive. The casualties from these two disasters were staggering, and this should remind everyone how earthquake-prone Indonesia is.
Since the devastating San Francisco earthquake of 1906, anti-earthquake engineering techniques have continuously improved…
Minimizing the danger, damage of landslides April 12, 2007
Posted by dionsiringo in Disaster Mitigation, Indonesiana, opinion.add a comment
Every year during the rainy season landslides pose a serious threat to many who live in mountainous areas of Java, Sumatra and several other islands. This year, we have already witnessed two tragic disasters caused by large scale landslides. Heavy rainfall combined with the misuse of land has triggered massive gravitational movements of debris and mud.
The recent toll from the landslides in Jember and Banjarnegara were particularly severe and tragic. However, even though these types of disaster continue to increase in terms of frequency and seriousness, little has been done to prevent, or even, mitigate the possibility.
There is a tendency to focus only on addressing immediate problems rather than anticipating new ones. To make matters worse, many people still merely put this disaster down to an “Act of God”, while in fact prevention of the landslide hazard is both scientifically possible and feasible.
