Dinding apartemen Oakwood runtuh diterjang angin

Akhir minggu kemarin Jakarta diterpa hujan badai yang cukup kencang. Di beberapa daerah terutama di selatan, seperti Warung Buncit, Pejaten dan Kemang bahkan sampai mengalami banjir (maaf, genangan maksudnya) yang cukup menghambat arus lalu lintas, bahkan ada pohon yang tumbang di daerah Tebet menimpa sebuah mobil.

Satu hal yang tidak terlalu diberitakan adalah rusaknya dinding gedung Oakwood di Mega Kuningan. Hanya sedikit yang mengangkat kejadian ini padahal integritas struktural gedung adalah hal yang sangat penting especially for a luxury apartment tower as significant as the Oakwood.

It’s astonishing to see that those panels couldn’t withstand the force of the winds when it stood against earthquakes in the last couple of years. Then again maybe the quakes and all the storms had loosened the panels enough to be ripped apart on Saturday.

Belasan panel besi yang menjadi kulit luar dinding gedung ini runtuh diterjang angin yang cukup keras hingga lepas dan jatuh menimpa setidaknya satu mobil dan berserakan di sekitar Loewy dan Starbucks yang berada di lantai dasar. I can’t imagine what it was like to be there waktu panel-panel itu mulai berjatuhan. Dengan begitu banyaknya panel yang jatuh it’s a miracle nobody was killed.

Arif Hidayat who goes to Oakwood regularly emailed us and expressed his dismay and concern about being in the area, “I’m more concerned for my safety, and I would think twice to go there, especially on a rainy day. I can’t believe it happened to a building that is supposedly to be a grade A building. Now I’m wondering, with all the buildings going up so fast in Jakarta’s skyline, are they safe? Imagined that happened to Oakwood just because of a windstorm, I can’t imagine if it’s an earthquake!”

Oakwood officials apparently refused to respond to reporters’ questions on Sunday.

-@amasna