Yogyakarta in Central Java has been hit with a massive earthquake. Early this morning a 6.2 quake hit close to the city, leaving 2,000 people dead and many injured.
Here is Bali we didn’t feel anything. Indonesia gets earthquakes all the time, last week there was one in Banda, Eastern Indonesia. The real trouble is when a big quake hits close to a city. For some reason Indonesians build houses and hotels out of cement. I used to live on the west coast of the US, where everything, including multi-storey shopping centers have a wooden skeleton. Reason for that is that wood can flex, rather than disintegrate. Over here they don’t seem to have grasped that concept. A few months back I visited a new property in Kuta, and asked the owner what building precautions he took, considering we are on a fault line. He said he didn’t really know.
Let’s hope the aftershocks don’t kill any more people in Yogya. Remember, if you are inside a building during an earthquake, get out. Do not use elevators, or wooden stairs. If you can’t escape, lay next to a solid object like a stone counter / bathtub / boxes of computer paper / filing cabinets.
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{ 3 comments }
Well Nick at least we sahre the same ring of fire!
For me the wierdest memorable earthquake happend in Oct 2000. There had just been a 5.0+ and the medias had rushed out to the epicentre near Palm Springs. As they were reporting an aftershock struck on live TV. I know that shock waves travel at appx 400MPH and I know Palm Springs is about 150 miles away so I did a mental calculation and we got hit in Long Beach just as I counted down to zero. It was the first time I knew of a quake coming before it hit!
what’s an earthquake?
hello i think the quake was apsoulutly horrible
but it would of been cool to be there.
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