Quake destroys history in Padang

Syofiardi Bachyul Jb , The Jakarta Post , Padang | Fri, 11/13/2009 9:50 AM

Into pieces: The quake destroys the See Hin Kiong temple in the area of Pondok in Padang.

The 7.9-magnitude earthquake that shook West Sumatra on Sept. 30 did not only destroy homes and modern buildings in the city of Padang, but also ancient and historical buildings from the Dutch colonial era.

Many of the buildings — built in the European style and mostly located in Padang Kota Lama area — were more than 100 years old.

Eko Alvarez, the head of the Architectural Conservation Study Center at Bung Hatta University, had counted 244 buildings registered with the Indonesian Heritage Conservation Agency.

After the earthquake, 119 buildings were heavily damaged, 68 partially damaged, 41 lightly damaged, and only 16 suffered no damage.

“The old buildings we kept a record of stood in the area starting from the West Sumatra governor’s office, in the Jl. Sudirman, and stretching across to the area of Jl. Batang Arau.

More than 70 old buildings in this area were listed as heritage buildings of Padang,” Eko told The Jakarta Post.

The heavily damaged and even destroyed buildings included the Mesjid Gantiang Mosque, Padang city’s oldest mosque built in 1815, the 1861 See Hin Kiong Temple, Agnes Elementary, the oldest Catholic school in West Sumatra founded in 1900, the Chapel of the Convent of the beautiful SCMM inaugurated in 1903, and the Catholic Church erected in 1933.

While old buildings were built with thick walls and had been well maintained, the quake was too strong for many large edifices to hold together.

Meanwhile, some other buildings easily succumbed to the earthquake because of a lack of maintenance and rotting timber.

“The rotten buildings hadn’t been reinforced and were abandoned. Actually, even if there had been no earthquake, these buildings would have eventually collapsed,” said Eko.

Before and after: A beautiful historical building in Jalan Pasar Melintang in Kampung Nias, estimatedly built in 1902 (photo above), left severely damaged after an earthquake hit the area (photo below).

In Kampung Nias, on Jl. Pasar Melintang, the façade of a roadside residential settlement built in 1902 collapsed, destroying the beautiful classical ornaments belonging to the two-level terrace building.

“The damage and destruction of buildings that were part of the city’s culture and heritage have created serious concerns for the government, the city of Padang and the community. This situation must be handled quickly and in a controlled manner, otherwise renovations will destroy everything,” he said.

Eko, who noticed some owners had already started to renovate their properties, warned the government should oversee the renovations.

“Do not let the earthquake that hit the city of Padang change the face of the city.”

The people who will rebuild the historic buildings should be given photographs and the original dimensions [of those buildings]. The work should also be handled carefully,” he said.

According to Eko, the management has already reported its assessment of the state of the historic buildings to a number of related authorities, including the coordinating minister for the people’s welfare, the minister for public housing, and the minister for culture and tourism.

“In summary, the recommendations contain suggestions for renovating the buildings by following conservation rules,” he said.

The disaster did not only damage the buildings but also their historic collections.

The Indonesian Heritage Trust (BPPI) reported in Jakarta that the massive quake had ruined 300 ceramic collections from the Ming and Ching dynasties at Padang’s Museum Adityawarman, while thousands of valuable books and documents were damaged at West Sumatra’s Archive and Library body, leaving only 5 percent of the collection intact.

The association plans to hold a series of events titled Action for Heritage Emergency Response Post Disaster West Sumatra in Jakarta from Nov. 13 to Nov. 30.

Meanwhile, Padang City Mayor Fauzi Bahar admitted that he not yet made any special plans to renovate the protected buildings.

“I’ve heard there are experts who can restore buildings to their original form, but there has been no talk of renovation,” he told the Post.

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