Bali earthquake: No damage in Seminyak

Flicking through some online news reports today, I see Bali had an earthquake yesterday. According to the USGS, a 5.2 quake hit 253 miles (407 km) NE of Denpasar at 08:01:05.10 UTC on Dec 24, 2006.

Must be all the excitement of having family and friends around, because I didn’t notice. No one mentioned anything to me either, so I’ll take the word of the USGS. Speaking of earthquakes, it has always amazed me how people living in fault zones, continue to build with concrete. Living in the US for many years, I know that virtually all the houses and buildings have a wooden frame. In Bali I see 3 storey structures being erected, perfect ‘disaster boxes’ for a big shaker. They use a wire mess to strengthen the concrete blocks, instead of a stronger metal rod. One guy told me a good thing out here, is that a lot of the roofs are light, so when the thing comes down you still have a chance.

Indonesia has earthquakes every week, most of which are in unpopulated areas.