In Indonesia, the land continues to vibrate since the 18th earthquake. The first, 5.6 on the Richter scale, has left at least 268 deaths and more than a thousand wounded. Now in the country they are working on searching for cadavers and survivors, but the land has not given them much work possibilities and have had at least 118 aftershocks of the Saturday earthquake, between 1.5 and 4.2. However, experts dismiss the tsunami.

The disaster occurred on the most populous island in the country, Java. In addition to data on deaths and injuries, the earthquake has left another: 22,000 homes destroyed and 58,000 displaced persons. In the past few hours, as rescue jobs last, more survivors are coming out.

Earthquakes in Indonesia are frequent and, according to recent data, occur almost every year. In all of them, moreover, material damage and many deaths have been left. In the same year, the earthquake on the island of Celebes resulted in 105 deaths, 3,369 injuries and more than 94,000 displacements. It was more intense than this year.

Different conclusions

It is clear that Indonesia is a seismic territory, with earthquakes or small aftershocks every year. But the geographical situation is not the only one that supports it. There is nothing else to see, days before this latest earthquake was reported, the earthquake that occurred in Italy. On 9 November it had an intensity of 5.7 in Italy, a somewhat stronger earthquake than in Indonesia. Subsequently, it had two replicas of 3.4 and 4.0 degrees. But not all of these casualties caused not a single death, not even wounded. The firefighters conducted rounds along the dwellings, as some of them were cracked with tremor, but they did not find themselves affected.

The earthquake in September was higher than in Italy, with an intensity of 7.7. Two people died as a result of earthquake damage and another two in the 6.9-degree replica on 22 September. It is clear, therefore, that there are many seismic countries in the world, but even if the force of earthquakes is similar, the consequences are not the same. Experts have analyzed several factors, and although some are unalterable, there are cracks to avoid such great damage.

The composition of the buildings can be one of the keys to reducing the death toll in a remarkable way: antiseismic buildings are needed and the example of Chile is set. There, in the country that suffers the most earthquakes, buildings barely fall and, therefore, they are dead. Buildings are made of reinforced concrete, with energy dissipation devices and accurate surface studies. In addition to concrete and elaborate evacuation plans, they have concluded that material damage and deaths could be significantly reduced.