Lessons Learned from the Recent Natural Disasters in Indonesia

Abstract

Indonesia was at risk from this earthquake because the region was in the megathrust region. Two deadly earthquakes struck the region early and late in September 2009. A 7.3-Mw magnitude earthquake struck the Tasikmalaya District, West Java Province, at a depth of 30 km on September 2, 2009. Additionally, a magnitude 7.6 earthquake hit Padang on September 30, 2009, the epicenter of which was about 60 km northwest of Padang at a depth greater than 120 km. Massive geotechnical hazards were reported in those quakes. The bursting of the Situ Gintung dam on March 27, 2009 washed away housing and the settlement downstream of the dam. Some lessons can be learned from those disasters. This chapter aims to review the disasters’ geotechnical aspects. The recent disasters in Indonesia pointed out poor preparedness in disaster management. Households, governments, and schools have to enhance their awareness and understanding of collateral hazards. An integrated disaster early warning system (EWS) must be improved for high-risk regions to reduce damage and loss.