The Cianjur earthquake reveals insufficient resilience in Indonesia

The aftermath of the Cianjur earthquake that killed more than 300 people is calling on Jakarta to seriously review its disaster reduction and prevention efforts. Much needs to be done to reduce future losses.

On November 21, 2022, a 5.6-magnitude earthquake shook the city of Cianjur, West Java, and tremors were felt as far away as Jakarta (about 107 kilometers away) and in Tangerang. As of early December 2022, the earthquake not only destroyed buildings, homes, and infrastructure, but also claimed at least 334 lives, injured 593, and displaced 114,683 people overnight. According to the Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysical Agency (BMKG), the quake was a shallow, or surface, earthquake, and it didn’t need to be too strong to be destructive. The level of destruction was mainly because the infrastructure in Cianjur district and its population were not prepared for disasters.

In the aftermath of the earthquake, many Indonesians recalled earlier warnings that Jakarta might experience similar risks one day. In June 2022, Kompas reported the Barebes Fault crossing the densely populated suburbs of South Jakarta. In 2018, tirto.id reported on the same topic using the metaphor of a “monster” killed under Jakarta, but this did not get much attention. Recently, the Jakarta Disaster Agency warned that ten districts in South and East Jakarta are at high risk of earthquakes. In the most vulnerable area are commercial buildings and residences – the tallest tower with 50 floors. It is easy to see that an earthquake of medium magnitude or larger in Jakarta would wreak much more havoc than the Cianjur disaster.

Despite these warnings, neither the national nor the metropolitan government of Jakarta appears to have taken serious measures in earthquake prevention, not even issuing orders to retrofit buildings at risk.

Opening the seventh session of the Global Forum for Disaster Risk Reduction (GPDRR) in Bali on May 25, 2022, President Joko Widodo (“Jokowi”) stated that Indonesia is committed and serious about Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR). However, the Widodo administration has not put disaster risk reduction and mitigation efforts at the core of the country’s infrastructure development policy.

This is despite the existence of the Sendai Declaration in 2015 and the Sendai Framework 2015-2030, which set disaster risk reduction priorities for countries at risk from natural hazards, following the tragic tsunami in Japan in March 2011. The framework emphasizes seven priorities for disaster risk reduction and affirms That if disaster risk reduction is properly integrated into policy, governments will be able to reduce existing disaster risks and manage residual risks.

Today, general literacy in Indonesia is minimal. The Indonesian government, unlike Japan or other earthquake-prone countries, has not properly conducted public education about the risks and effects of natural disasters and what to do when such risks occur. For the Cianjur earthquake, there is no evidence that the local government conducted public education programs about the risks to local people living near the Cimandiri fault line. The same applies to the capital, Jakarta.

This author finds that such a catastrophic lack of literacy applies to Indonesian elites, which include decision makers and government officials. The way the national government formulates its policies on development, urban construction projects and other infrastructure projects does not seem to reflect any understanding of the need to follow current global standards for disaster risk reduction. This is particularly the case for the construction of housing, office buildings, and even important public structures and facilities such as ports and bridges.

Regulations are certainly in place: from 2011 to 2022, Indonesia issued around 23 Disaster Readiness National Standards (SNI). In 2019, the government released SNI 1726 (2019) for Infrastructure and Non-Earthquake Resistant Buildings, but somehow these standards are not consistently applied.

Two main factors can explain such discrepancies. First, policymakers, public officials, and business may have dismissed disaster preparedness as an onerous requirement for most major infrastructure projects. Technical specifications are often neglected due to conflicts of interest between investors and government officials or even outright corruption. While media reports of avoidable disaster losses that may be attributed to corruption are rarely found, one case made its way into the headlines. A corruption scandal of 4.5 billion rupiah (approximately US$289,000) occurred in the purchase and installation of breakers at Ranolapu, South Minahasa, in North Sulawesi province. The village chief was warned not to report the case, but changed his mind when disaster struck Ranolapo Beach in 2016, causing casualties in his village.

Although there is an official requirement to conduct a Strategic Environmental Assessment (KLHS), whereby proposed development sites must be analyzed for risk of natural disasters or hazards, the reality is often different.

Either these assessments are made later, to legitimize projects that have already been agreed upon by key stakeholders, as in the case of Indonesia’s proposed site for the new capital Nusantara, or KLHS often seems to be sidetracked by political elites, business interests, or even government officials. One infamous example was the cement industry’s Kendeng karst, where the Central Java provincial government flouted a KHLS recommendation requiring the state-owned Cement Indonesia plant to relocate a lime mining project.

The situation is further complicated because when credible, science-based warnings of disaster occur, the government’s response is often denial or avoidance.

The situation is further complicated because when credible, science-based warnings of disaster occur, the government’s response is often denial or avoidance. One infamous case was when a group of scientists from the Bandung Institute of Technology (ITB) published a report in the journal Nature, outlining the possibility of a massive earthquake and potential tsunami south of Java. This article attracted a lot of attention, but instead of using the impetus for proper public education about earthquake risks on the country’s most populous island, the government’s main message was for people not to panic.

One theory in disaster planning and control is that general panic can lead to social unrest and even chaos if it cannot be contained. The Cianjur earthquake was a wake-up call for Jakarta and Indonesia in general: to build the resilience of the government and its people to disasters.

By not seriously committing to a nationwide disaster risk reduction program, the Jokowi administration may choose the appearance of stability rather than sincere recognition of the population and prepare them for future disasters. This is short-sighted because the potential loss of life and treasure in the next naturally occurring catastrophe will only increase, not diminish, given climate change and its impact on the largest archipelago in the “Ring of Fire”.

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