Unaware of Lurking Earthquakes and Liquefactions

KOMPAS/BENEDIKTUS KRISNA YOGATAMA

Anto, 40, a resident of North Tatura subdistrict, points to cracks in the wall of his house that were caused by the 28 Sept. 2018 earthquake in South Palu district, Palu, on Thursday (9/1/2020). North Tatura is located in an earthquake hazard zone.

It seems that locals in Palu, Central Sulawesi, are being targeted by lurking disasters that can happen at any time, as they are living on top of an active fault.

Ironically, these locals have not received clear information about their living area’s proneness to disaster. They are not well informed on preparing for disasters either.

Anto Tahera, 40, was surprised upon learning that his residence in North Tatura subdistrict, South Palu district, Palu, Central Sulawesi, was within a zone with high risk of earthquakes and liquefaction.

Thus far, he said that he had thought his residence was in a safe zone and that liquefaction like that occurring in Petobo subdistrict on 28 Sept.28, 2018 could not happen there. Even if there is an earthquake, Anto said that his house would not be severely damaged. “I do not know. If this is true, it’s horrifying,” Anto said at his home two weeks ago.

Anto said that there had been no information from anybody that his house was within a highly disaster-prone zone. He further said that he did not know what to do during an earthquake.

When the earthquake struck on Sept.28 2018, Anto’s house was affected but the damage was not too severe. “When the earthquake occurred, I was in a mosque around 200 meters away,” said Anton, who lives with his wife and child.

Despite having lived in North Tatura since he was born, Anto said he would be willing to move to another place outside the danger zone if he had money. “For me, my family’s safety is the priority,” Anto said.

Anton, 41, a resident of Jl. Batubata Indah, North Tatura, also did not know of the area’s proneness to disasters. He said that he would not be prepared if earthquakes struck his area. “I do not know about earthquakes in this region. There is no information. Thus far [after the 2018 earthquake], I’ve been fine,” said Anton, who lives with his mother.

The area’s soft soil makes it prone to destructive earthquakes that can severely damage houses.

A survey by Palu’s Class I Geophysics Station and disaster management agency found that North Tatura subdistrict was highly prone to earthquakes and liquefaction. The area’s soft soil makes it prone to destructive earthquakes that can severely damage houses. North Tatura’s earthquake proneness index is 13.84, higher than Palu’s 12.19 on average.

However, on the central government’s disaster proneness spatial map, North Tatura is listed as zone 1 or development zone. This is despite a survey by the Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency (BMKG) finding that North Tatura should have been listed as zone 3 or limited zone. This means that the disaster proneness spatial map neglects the earthquake potential found in the BMKG survey.

Most worryingly, North Tatura is the most densely-populated sub-district in Palu. Referring to a 2018 Palu Statistics Agency (BPS) data, North Tatura had a population of 22,839 people.

The segment in Sigi regency may potentially trigger a 7-magnitude earthquake.

Class I Geophysics Station data and information section head Hendrik Leopatty said one of the four segments in the Palu-Koro Fault, namely the moa segment, had yet to release its energy. The segment in Sigi regency may potentially trigger a 7-magnitude earthquake.

Palu BPBD chief Singgih B. Prasetyo said that the agency had provided the city spatial planning and land agency with a micro-zonation map that had earthquake and liquefaction proneness indices. He said that he hoped the survey could be used as reference in creating an earthquake-resistant building code.

Nevertheless, Palu spatial planning and land agency head Mohammad Rizal said that the city’s spatial planning revision plan would refer to the disaster proneness spatial map created by the central government, instead of the micro-zonation map from the Palu BPBD or the BMKG map. (KEL/BKY/ILO)