Jakarta is dangerously unprepared if 'the big one' hits, quake experts warn

With earthquakes very much in the news recently, including one in the Sunda Strait on Sunday that rattled Jakarta, the city administration is being urged to put in place guidelines for responding to a major temblor, reports the Jakarta Globe.

According to the The National Disaster Management Agency (BNPB), Jakarta did not have any standard operating procedures for responding to earthquakes, especially for high-rise buildings, and without regular earthquake drills, most people in the Indonesian capital had no idea what they should do in the event of a quake.

“The government has only focused on SOPs for floods and fires. For these two disasters, Jakarta has perfect operating procedures,” Sugeng Triutomo, the The National Disaster Management Agency’s deputy head for disaster prevention and preparedness. “Once the SOP for earthquakes is finished, the main focus will be to let everyone know about it so they can respond properly in the event of an earthquake.”