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| Ir. Erwin Rommel, M.T., A Civil Engineering Lecturer at the University of Muhammadiyah Malang (UMM). (Foto Istimewah) |
The earthquake in Cianjur on Monday, 21st November, devastated various buildings and took many victims. The Center of Meteorology, Climatology, and Geophysics of Indonesia (Translated: BMKG) has stated that the earthquake is a 20s-year cycle hitting Cianjur. From viewing the phenomenon, Ir Erwin Rommel, M. T., a civil engineering lecturer at the University of Muhammadiyah Malang, said that some things caused buildings to collapse when the earthquake with 5.6 magnitudes struck Cianjur. Some causes are the earthquake centre position, fracture and subsoil types, and existing building conditions in Cianjur.
Erwin, his familiar nickname, described that when the earthquake happened in Cianjur, its centre was in the fault line of Cimandiri with a depth of fewer than 10 kilometres, categorised as a shallow quake. Besides being close to the earthquake centre, the ground characteristics in Cianjur are relatively unstable. It can be seen from the ground topography in Cianjur, hills and mountains. The condition causes the ground to be prone to landslides if an earthquake occurs.
"Most of the standing buildings in the area of Cianjur are low and modest, which have not fulfilled the standard of earthquake resistance. Mostly, ordinary people only assume that an occurring earthquake only significantly impacts high buildings. Actually, an earthquake is influential to all building destruction either in lived houses or high-rise buildings," the Medanese lecturer said.
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Regarding the earthquake-resistant housing specifications, the head of the Dictionary Development Supervision Agency of UMM expresses that a set of things must be noticed to build an earthquake-resistant and modest house. The first thing is to create a possible symmetrical design. Second, the wall's stiffener must be available; at least every 12 square metres of wall area must be given practical columns and beams. The third step is to provide enough anchor for each element's link to a building. For instance, a link from a wall to a beam foundation, a barrier to a column, or a beam connection to a roof construction.
"Some modest, earthquake-resistant buildings have been introduced to society by the Settlement Research and Development Center (Puskim), Research and Development Agency, Ministry of Public Works and Public Housing. Among them are wood, bamboo, and concrete material-based modest and earthquake-resistant houses. The primary specification that needs to be fulfilled is the integrity of the building so that places can resist an earthquake.", he added.
Homes that can withstand earthquakes can happen if the building elements, starting from the foundation, sloop beam, column, wall, and roof beam, have been linked correctly. Besides, it is necessary to have a load distributor from one element to another so that buildings will not easily collapse and can be earthquake-resistant.
In its realisation, constructing an earthquake-resistant house is more costly than building an ordinary place. Nevertheless, Erwin claimed that things could be tricked by using available building materials surrounding the living environment. For example, people may utilise bamboo or rattan instead of reinforcing bars. In addition, wood can replace other materials.
The lecturer, who also serves as the Head of the Association of Indonesian Construction Experts in Greater Malang, uttered, "The point is, constructing an earthquake-resistant house is making the building lighter, more detailed. Besides, it is also supported by load distribution from each element to a foundation. If we can utilise the natural wealth as the replacement of building materials, then earthquake-resistant houses can be cheaper and more affordable in society."
In constructing an earthquake-resistant house, besides adhering to the Ministry of Public Works and Spatial Planning regulation, Erwin shared several tips. One is to know the development of fracture or fault zones around living places. In building designs, people need to understand the earthquake vulnerability to anticipate an earthquake. The next is educating people about mitigation and victim rescue.
"It is necessary to educate people about earthquake anticipation and mitigation when an earthquake occurs. Besides, the Local and Central Governments must comprehensively map and relocate existing, standing buildings, especially those in the fault path. Also, the zone which can become an active fault in the following days.", he concluded. (imh/syi/wil)
