Taiwan's Transformation Facing Indonesia's Earthquake and Risks

The Chi-Chi earthquake in 1999 was the beginning of Taiwan's transformation to become more resilient in the face of earthquakes. How about Indonesia?

AP/CHIANG YING-YING

Just like Japan and Indonesia, Taiwan is also situated in the Ring of Fire with a long history of devastating earthquakes. However, most of the impacts of earthquakes, including building damage and loss of life, can be overcome thanks to the disaster preparedness and mitigation efforts that have been implemented for decades.

After the devastating M 7.6 earthquake earthquake that caused 2,400 deaths in 1999, Taiwan has been transformed, strengthening its seismic infrastructure and citizen resilience. These efforts showed results with minimal damage and loss of life due to the M 7.4 earthquake on Wednesday (3/4/2024).

The M 7.6 earthquake on September 21, 1999 occurred when the Chelungpu fault in the small town of Chi-Chi in Nantou County, Taiwan, broke. A total of 2,415 people were killed and thousands more were injured, making it the most destructive earthquake in Taiwan's history after the Shinchiku-Taichu earthquake in 1935. However, the number of casualties does not rank among the top 10 most damaging earthquakes in the world.

Yu-Feng Chan's study in the journal Prehospital and Disaster Medicine (2006) stated that apart from the strength of the earthquake and its shallow source, the weak strength of the buildings and the large number of victims at that time were due to delays in evacuation and handling of victims.

The majority of the destruction caused by the earthquake at that time occurred near the epicenter along the fault line. A total of 81,000-106,000 buildings were damaged, including private homes, apartments and office buildings, shops, and hospitals.

Also read: Taiwan shaken by biggest earthquake in 25 years

Before the earthquake, the Taiwan Building Code (TBC) or building standards were revised in 1996, but most of the collapsed houses were designed referring to the 1982 standards. Most of the destroyed buildings were traditional one-story houses in rural areas that were 30-80 years old.

AP/HUALIEN FIRE DEPARTMENT

Firefighters and miners evacuate bodies from the Ho Ren mine in Hualien, Taiwan, on Thursday (4/4/2024). Rescue teams continue to search for dozens of people still missing a day after the strongest earthquake in the last 25 years hit Taiwan. The death toll reportedly increased to 10.

Many 12-15 story buildings do not have earthquake protection. However, not a single 20-story or higher building has collapsed. "Thus, it is clear from the number of collapsed and damaged buildings that many apartment buildings are not systematically designed to withstand such disasters," Chan wrote.

Changes in Taiwan

After the Chi-Chi earthquake, Taiwan underwent transformation. Dimas Salomo Sianipar, a lecturer at the School of Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics (STMKG), who completed his doctoral studies on earthquakes at the National Central University in Taiwan in 2022, noted several key factors in Taiwan's resilience in facing this earthquake.

"The death toll from yesterday's 7.4 magnitude earthquake was 'only' nine people, despite a densely populated population of 23.5 million in the affected area. Many advances have been made there since the Chi-Chi earthquake in 1999 in terms of disaster preparedness, especially for earthquakes," said Dimas.

According to him, there has been at least some progress made by Taiwan after the Chi-Chi earthquake. "First, the building is earthquake resistant. "Taiwan implements strict building codes so that the majority of buildings are earthquake resistant," said Dimas.

Also read: Taiwan Earthquake Triggered by One of the Most Active Faults in the World

Earthquake-resistant building regulations are being continuously updated and enforced, both for new and old buildings. The government of Taiwan also offers subsidies to residents who want to check the earthquake resistance of their buildings.

Much progress was made there after the 1999 Chi-Chi earthquake in terms of disaster preparedness efforts, especially earthquakes.

The building regulations are also strictly enforced. For example, following the earthquake on February 6, 2016 in Tainan, on the southwest coast of the island, five people involved in the construction of a 17-story apartment building, which was the only large building to collapse at that time and killed dozens of people, were found guilty and imprisoned.

According to Dimas, Taiwan not only strengthens buildings but also enhances the capacity of its citizens through widespread disaster education efforts, especially in elementary and high schools. "To fight forgetfulness, every disaster event (not just earthquakes) is documented and used as literacy for the community to be cautious in the future," he said.

For example, after the Chi-Chi earthquake in 1999, the Taiwanese government built the Chi-Chi Earthquake Museum and Chelungpu Fault Preservation Park with the aim of educating the public about earthquake hazards. Another example is the recording of flood levels during typhoons at train stations.

For Taiwan, resilience in facing natural disasters, including earthquakes, has become a national priority. This is driven by Taiwan's geopolitical situation, which is less favorable.

On the other hand, Taiwan is also highly vulnerable to hydro-meteorological disasters such as typhoons, floods, landslides, and strong earthquakes almost every year. "Therefore, resilience is a priority for them," said Dimas.

The pattern of disaster mitigation in Taiwan since 2014 has also shifted from experience-based or experience-based and science-based or science-based to science and information-intelligence-based or based on science and information-intelligence.

Artificial intelligence is also widely used to reduce risks, such as in its application for surveillance during the Covid-19 pandemic. "In addition to involving scientists and policymakers, it also involves integrated information from the general public," he said.

To encourage research progress, Taiwan also encourages data and information openness and collaboration. Almost all geophysical, geological, disaster and other relevant data are open access in Taiwan, making it possible to carry out research that is transparent, comprehensive and mutually controlled.

AP/CHIANG YING YING

The condition of one of the leaning buildings in Hualien, one day after the devastating earthquake hit Taiwan on Thursday (4/4/2024). Hualien Mayor Hsu Chen-wei said that 48 residential buildings were damaged due to the earthquake on Wednesday. Some of them are leaning at dangerous angles and their ground floor is destroyed.

"Funding support and research related to standardized and systematic disaster management are also highly effective in Taiwan. Collaboration between scientists (research institutions, universities) and industry is also well-established," said Dimas.

He gave an example, in Taiwan many electronics industries, especially the semiconductor (micro-chip) industry, are involved in disaster mitigation efforts.

"For example, my professor once told me that if there was a strong earthquake, the semiconductor factory would have to stop production operations, causing potential losses. "They felt they needed accurate information from seismologists about when the aftershocks stopped and finally collaborated and funded the study," he said.

These companies also invest heavily in developing the Earthquake Early Warning System (EEWS) or earthquake early warning system.

Taiwan is now known as one of the advanced countries in early earthquake detection, so it can give automatic early warnings of earthquakes to residents' mobile phones before strong tremors occur.

Lessons in Indonesia

Similar to its earthquake-prone neighbor Japan, Taiwan seems to have found a way to build resilience in the face of earthquakes. So far, earthquakes cannot be prevented, but the risk of fatalities can be reduced by various measures.

An earthquake expert from the Bandung Institute of Technology (ITB), Irwan Meilano, said that after the Chi-Chi earthquake in 1999, Taiwan has made rapid progress in reducing disaster risks. "This should be an important lesson for us," he said.

Like Taiwan and Japan, Indonesia is also on the Pacific Ring of Fire so it is very vulnerable to earthquakes.

Even the United States Geological Survey (USGS) survey states that Indonesia is the country with the most earthquakes in the world. Indonesia also has the most earthquakes per unit of land area, along with Tonga and Fiji in the Pacific Islands.

CNA/AFP

The damage is visible at the National Hualien Girls' Senior High School in Hualien after a strong earthquake struck the eastern part of Taiwan one day earlier, on Thursday (4/4/2024). Taiwan's rescue team is continuing to work to reach a number of people trapped in several locations.

Historical records also show that out of the 10 deadliest earthquakes in the last century, two of them occurred in Indonesia. The first rank is the M 9.1 earthquake in Aceh on December 26, 2024, which killed around 230,000 people, and the tenth rank is the M 6.3 earthquake that struck Yogyakarta on May 26, 2006, which killed 6,000 people.

Also read: The Strongest Earthquake in Taiwan in 25 Years and a Danger Alarm for Indonesia

It is important to note that disaster risk is not solely caused by geological vulnerabilities that cannot be modified. The high level of destruction and casualties resulting from earthquakes is mainly due to the weak capacity for mitigation, especially because of poor building quality.

Indonesia has experienced many terrible tragedies due to earthquakes. However, this has not yet triggered significant transformation, as evidenced by every earthquake being synonymous with destruction and a high number of casualties.