SURF AID INTERNATIONAL MOVE IN

Dr Dave Jenkins called yesterday to ask if SAI could move their office to ELM headquarters in our home at Bukit Gado-gado, Padang. The structure of the hotel where the SAI office is located has been compromised by the quake and masonry wall panels are no longer bonded to the concrete structure’s frame. SAI staff Eric Lee described the problems in the old hotel structure over the phone and it is clear that the building is unsafe. Having just observed the ruins of similar structures in Gunung Sitoli and knowing where their hotel office is located, I urged them to move immediately. Earthquake engineers all agree that the vast majority of deaths and injuries from earthquakes are caused by bad buildings. The combination of inadequate foundations, sedimentary or reclaimed subsoil conditions and shoddy structures is particularly deadly.



Jane and I designed our mountain top home with earthquakes in mind. Built on bedrock, the split level house has an organic spiral plan form and the reinforced concrete structure is over-built. Only a week after we installed the glazing Padang was hit by the shockwaves from the devastating Bengkulu quake of June 04 2000. We were staying on the 7th floor of the Bumi Minang Hotel in Padang and the quake severely cracked the walls and broke plate glass windows in several areas. We rushed to the unfinished house and found no sign of cracking or foundation movement at all. Our Padang staff have confirmed that the recent quake caused no cracks or damage.

Most of our Padang staff and their families moved to the house the day of the quake and have remained there since. They will host SAI in our absence. (Jane is fishing in West Australia and I am on Batavia)