[Kabar-indonesia] 6.1 magnitude earthquake strikes off Gorontalo

[Joyo at aol.com]

also: Tsunami... such a terrible and tragic word; 
and Workshop in Seismology at ITB

Associated Press 
July 23, 2006

Breaking News

6.1 magnitude earthquake strikes off Gorontalo in
Indonesia

Indonesian officials recorded the quake at 6.6

JAKARTA (AP): A 6.1 magnitude earthquake struck off
Gorontalo province on Sulawesi Island on Sunday, the
U.S. geological survey said.

Indonesian officials recorded the quake at 6.6 and
said it had the potential to trigger a tsunami. A
local authority ordered a coastal evacuation, but it
was unclear whether the message had gotten through to
residents.

The quake struck at 0822 GMT 108 kilometers (67 miles)
south of Gorontalo in northern Sulawesi, according to
the survey. It was felt across parts of Sulawasi, but
there were no reports of damage or injuries.

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The Jakarta Post 
July 23, 2006

Tsunami... such a terrible and tragic word

By Simon Marcus Gower

Sometimes, regrettably, we learn of our world in
deeply disturbing and saddening ways. This is
particularly true of the harsh realities of the nature
of our world. I feel no particular embarrassment in
admitting that, up until a little less than two years
ago, I really would not have known much about the word
'tsunami'.

Now, of course, we are all unfortunately too familiar
with that word. At the end of 2004 Aceh, North Sumatra
and so many other places and nations were suddenly
struck by an awful tsunami and now just this past week
that terrible word has been passing our lips again.

When the news came late on Monday afternoon the
expression `oh no, not again' seemed to be much in
use. The terrible and tragic consequences of a tsunami
were once again brought to mind and it did not take
too long before the carnage was once again brought to
television screens.

The awful force of a tsunami is so powerful that it
can be difficult to comprehend. Though we now all know
of that word, most of us cannot conceive of the
nightmarish scenario of a huge wave pouring in on us
and inundating all around us.

It was, though, in some ways quite odd that some
people observed that the tsunami that hit the southern
coast of Java was 'not as powerful as the Aceh
tsunami' and so was 'not so bad.' Comparisons of scale
and numbers almost seem secondary at such times.
References to the numbers of people killed or injured
or displaced are used to define the magnitude and
extent of devastation; but these things can be written
large on just one or two faces.

The images that are brought to us -- via television
screens and newspapers -- can be hard to comprehend.
Houses collapsed like little more than matchsticks,
debris strewn everywhere, boats pushed far into shore,
cars picked up and tossed into seemingly impossible
positions -- each of these things suggest the mayhem
that comes with a tsunami. But some images are even
more powerful and difficult to comprehend.

The people caught up in a tsunami portray all the true
terror and tragedy of the thing. The images of people
running for high ground, the people made homeless
sheltering in communal centers speak of the scale and
terror of the disaster. But it is those that have lost
loved ones that really speak of the tragedy of the
tsunami.

Such loss is hard to comprehend and there are times
when, being shown it, we can seem intrusive. In the
day or so following the tsunami in southern Java
images of weeping people were beamed to television
screens -- painfully and fully representing the misery
of loss. In one particularly heart-wrenching image two
men sat on the ground hugging each other. One of them
was literally overcome by his sadness, the other
tearfully trying to console him.

Trying to blame people for the consequences of natural
disasters is always likely to prove a questionable and
difficult task. While warnings might help they cannot
stop what is going to happen. Also, blaming our human
behavior for climate change and a change in the
balance of nature is not a fruitful exercise either
because we are all ultimately culpable for the way the
world is.

We are all culpable and we all share collective
responsibility. Disasters seem to be visiting the
shores of Indonesia with a horrible and wretched
regularity and this is, of course, deeply disturbing
and regrettable but, it is to be hoped, that these
disasters can in an almost perverse way - help to
bring the nation of Indonesia together.

It is to be hoped that from the darkness that is
wrought by these terrible tragedies Indonesia may
progress toward a light from unity. For example, again
perhaps perversely, people in Jakarta can sometimes be
removed and distant from other parts of the nation.
There are those in Jakarta that are getting an
impression and so an association with their brethren
in the provinces.

School children who are often more interested in the
antics of Hollywood movie stars or pop idols are
actually learning of Indonesia and are learning to
sympathize and empathize with the innocent victims of
Indonesia's natural disasters. This is a hard way to
learn but at least we may see that some good is coming
of such hardships.

So we have all learnt the word tsunami and we are all
now so sadly familiar with its consequences. We must
hope that in the future that word tsunami will rarely,
if ever, have to cross our lips again, but we must
resolve to respond to its consequences.

The destruction caused can seem devastating and the
misery wrought on people's lives can be appalling but
the destruction and the misery should be driving
forces.

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The Jakarta Post 
July 23, 2006
    
Workshop in Seismology at ITB

The Bandung Institute of Technology (ITB) is holding a workshop on the 
Application of Integral Equations in Seismology from Aug. 7 to Aug. 16 and from Aug. 
22 to Aug. 25.

The workshop aims to provide knowledge for the application of integral 
equations in seismology and to show how these applications are utilized in many 
sectors, such as in the health sector, geotechnical engineering and the petroleum 
industry.

Undergraduate and postgraduate students, university lecturers and people in 
the industry are invited to participate in the workshop.

Several international and local experts, such as Dr. Gerard Herman, GC from 
Shell International Exploration of Petroleum, Dr. Wono Setya Budhi from 
Analysis and Geometry Group of ITB and Dr. Christina Dwi Riyanti from the Delft 
Institute of Applied of Mathematics, Delft University of Technology will speak at 
the workshop. 

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Joyo Indonesia News Service
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