GOVT URGED TO PROMOTE QUAKE-RESISTANT 'BIDAY' HOUSES

Bengkulu, Sept 4 (ANTARA) - The Layak Foundation, a local non-governmental organization, is urging the government to promote the traditional Bengkulu "Biday" concept in building houses to provide better safety during earthquakes.

Biday houses are made of bamboo that is more resistant to the stresses and strains of earthquakes than bricks or concrete.

"Bengkulu in particular is very prone to earthquakes because it sits on an area where two earth layer plates and a fault meet," Agus Widianto, Layak Foundation executive director, said here Friday in view of Wednesday's 7.3 earthquake centered near Tasikmalaya, West Java, that was also felt in places as far away as Jakarta and Bali, and caused tens of fatalities and enormous damage to homes and buildings.
The biday concept in house building which stemmed from local cultural wisdom could be a viable alternative to the conventional concept because it would significantly reduce the damage and casualty risk of earthquakes, he said.

A study Layak Foundation had conducted on biday houses still in use in certain communities in Napal Putih subdistrict in North Bengkulu district had proven the bamboo structures had a high degree of resilience against the impact of terrestrial movements, Widinato said.

Bengkulu was geophysically located above the meeting point of two active Indo-Australian and Eurasias plates and Sumatran fault, and thus in an earthquake red zone.

According to the results of research by the technology faculty of Bengkulu University, no fewer than 1,200 earthquakes occurred in Bengkulu in the period 1973-2008.

"Among the worst earthquakes were the 6.2 tectonic temblor in 1979 in Kepahiang, the 7.3 earthquake in 2000, and the magnitude-7.9 one in 2007," he said.

A survey done by the foundation on the damage caused by the 2007 quake in Bengkulu had showed that most of the devastated houses were made from bricks and concrete while biday or bamboo houses remained unscathed by the magnitude-7.9 quake.

To build a biday house, people needed only Rp35 million, while the house's bamboo structure, if so desired, could be easily plastered with cement.
Layak Foundation itself would soon actively promote the biday concept for house building in Bengkulu , Widianto said, adding that according to a geophysical map made by BMKG, 10 disticts in the province were particularly vulnerable to earthquakes.