VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

The National Research and Innovation Agency (BRIN) will build four earthquake-resilient composite housing units in 2021 to be placed in several areas in Indonesia, BRIN official Ade Sholeh Hidayah told ANTARA here on Tuesday.

"It would require earthquake-resilient house technology innovation that comprises design, construction, material, structural strength testing to produce earthquake-resilient buildings," he noted.

One of the four earthquake-resilient units will be built and placed in Rangkasbitung, Lebak district, and will be used by Lebak district's Regional Disaster Mitigation Agency (BPBD) in Banten, West Java, he informed.

Meanwhile, the other prototype housing units will be built and placed in Labuan Bajo, West Manggarai, East Nusa Tenggara to be utilized as teacher's accommodations, he said.

BRIN has made the effort to support the government's program that concerns building infrastructure to mitigate disasters, he informed.

Among these infrastructures are housing units that are quick to build and resilient against earthquakes, Hidayah said.

Earthquake-resilient composite housing is one of the innovations that BRIN has created to expedite the realization of fire and earthquake-resilient building construction innovations that are quick to build, he explained.

These buildings will be utilized as a strategic solution to mitigate earthquakes, he said.

The housing will be built using fire-resistant and light materials such as composite panels, styrofoam, and aluminum, he informed.

As a result, the total weight of the composite housing structures will be four times lighter compared to the weight of conventional housing structures, he explained.

This innovation is expected to be used by various parties to reduce the risk from earthquakes, especially to reduce fatalities caused by collapsing of buildings during quakes, he said.

On November 5, 2021, BNPB had organized mangrove planting on Mbah Drajid Beach, Lumajang district, East Java, as a tsunami mitigation measure and to commemorate World Tsunami Awareness Day, he noted.

Apart from being a mitigatory step against tsunami in vulnerable areas, this activity also aimed to raise residents' awareness of potential earthquake and tsunami threats, he added. (Antaranews)