Construction Expert Explains Surabaya Sinkhole Incident
Translator
Ricky Mohammad Nugraha
Editor
Laila Afifa
Rabu, 19 Desember 2018 19:52 WIB
The aerial view of the sinkhole in Jalan Gubeng, Surabaya, East Java, Wednesday, December 19, 2018.
TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Construction of a basement under the Siloam Hospital is believed to be the main cause of the giant sinkhole that appeared on Jalan Gubeng, Surabaya, nearby the construction site.
Head of the construction expert association Davy Sukamta said that the construction was the main cause the soil failure and eventually triggered the 20-meter deep sinkhole under the street that was right beside it.
“Based on the photographs of the area and the information I obtained, the project already had a retaining wall but it looked like the wall was not strong enough,” said davy on Wednesday, December 19.
“It will be proven later after investigations are complete. Jakarta has seven-level basement and is proven safe because the design and implementation were correct,” said Davy.
He deemed that the lack of sturdiness of the retaining wall surrounding the basement construction proved to be fatal considering that the soil in Surabaya is soft in nature and that any basement constructions should be done with extreme caution.
