The island of Java is prone to natural disasters like volcanism and earthquakes as it lies between that the Eurasian and Indo-Australian plate tectonics. I spent some time talking with the locals on their experiences regarding these natural disasters. The 2006 Yogyakarta earthquake could be felt at the village at Jlapan Kunden, Klaten. The villagers could feel the earth shaking up down and sideways for half an hour. They stayed outside their homes during that period of time as they feared the aftershocks. Weak structures collapse and some villagers still cant afford to repair the structures properly. Mount Merapi is the most active volcano in the region. Cities are strategically located around the volcano as it provides fertile land for crop cultivation. During the eruption in 2010, loud bangs could be heard from Klaten and the villagers could see the flow of red hot lava despite the volcano being many miles away. Harmful ashes rained down on the village. They had to stay indoors as the ashes piled up. The Javanese lives on some of the most active plate boundaries whereby such disasters could occur anytime. Some Javanese predicted that there will be a major eruption of Mount Merapi in 2014. I felt rather fortunate that my great grandfather migrated from Klaten to Singapore.
Posted on: Wed, 16 Oct 2013 06:00:59 +0000
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