Masasuke Takashima and Satoshi Tanaka

Abstract:
The mid-Java earthquake disaster of May 27, 2006, collapsed 139,859 houses and killed 5,778 people when their homes collapsed. Despite the dreadful damage, people began rebuilding houses similar to whose before the disaster. Once a house collapsed, people dug their household goods out of the debris, then sorted out anything reusable, such as bricks, tiles, beams, and RC column rebars for building new houses. This contrasts with Japan, where private houses destroyed by an earthquake would be thoroughly demolished and disposed of as debris, although household goods or property would be reused if possible. This difference between countries points out how circumstances driving the process of building, maintaining, and rebuilding houses drastically vary among nations and over time. New seismic-resistant housing must meet circumstances in ways different from existing housing, requiring much attention and effort to getting an overall picture of how the housing process in a target field is proceeding, what factors affect the process, and how all of these relate.

Keywords: the mid-Java earthquake disaster 2006, nonengineered housing, brick masonry, rebuilding of housing