Powerful earthquake hits Indonesia 'only a matter of time' as government urges mitigation efforts

JAKARTA: Indonesian authorities, including local governments, must take disaster mitigation seriously because it is “only a matter of time” before a powerful earthquake caused by two converging tectonic plates hits the country, the country’s meteorology and geophysics agency has warned.

Indonesia's Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency said this week that local governments should prepare mitigation measures including spatial planning for earthquake-resistant buildings that can accommodate the community in the event of strong earthquakes.

“There should be restrictions on development on the coast; no buildings should be built. If a hotel is built, it must be ready to face (a strong earthquake), which requires the building to be able to withstand 8.5 on the Richter scale,” Dwikorita Karnawati, head of the Coastal Zone Management Authority, said at a news conference on Tuesday (Aug. 20).

For its part, the German Meteorological and Hydrological Service has developed systems for monitoring, processing and disseminating information for early warnings of earthquakes and tsunamis, which are becoming increasingly fast and accurate.

Earthquake preparedness has received renewed attention in Indonesia following Japan's warning of a major earthquake earlier this month.

After a 7.1-magnitude earthquake struck the Japanese island of Kyushu on August 8, the Japan Meteorological Agency issued a major earthquake warning for the first time, indicating that the quake could be a precursor to a larger quake that could cause significant loss of life.

The agency lifted the alert after a week and said people were free to return to their normal lives.

Two areas of concern

Referring to the events in Japan, Mr. Daryono, head of the Indonesian Meteorology and Climatology Agency's Earthquake and Tsunami Center, said it was only a matter of time before Indonesia experienced earthquakes in two strong areas, as it had been a long time since such earthquakes had occurred.

Mr. Daryono was referring to two very strong areas known as the Sunda Strait and the Mentawai-Sibirut region, which lie off the southern coasts of the islands of Sumatra and Java.

A superthrust zone is a meeting point between the Earth's tectonic plates that has the potential to trigger powerful earthquakes and tsunamis.

“It can be said that earthquakes in these two sectors are just a matter of time, because it has been hundreds of years since a major earthquake occurred,” he wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter, on August 11.

According to Mr. Daryono, Japanese scientists' concerns about the Nankai mega-zone are similar to those of Indonesian scientists about the Sunda Strait and the Mentawai-Sibirut mega-zone, which have not experienced earthquakes or seismic gaps for a long time.

“The seismic gap in the Sunda Strait has lasted for 267 years, and the seismic gap between Mentawai and Siberut has lasted for 227 years, while other areas have experienced earthquakes; my mission is to remind (of the need for) vigilance,” Mr. Daryono said in another post.

His remarks led to the “giant push” becoming a trending topic on social media in the country, as well as local media reports.

Indonesia is located at the intersection of the world's major tectonic plates and several minor plates, and has experienced many earthquakes and volcanic eruptions.

According to the earthquake hazard map issued by the German Meteorological and Environmental Agency in 2017, there are 13 major thrust areas that have the potential to trigger earthquakes with a magnitude of more than 8 and tsunamis.

Mr Daryono added that the public discussion about the massive force is not new, as it was discussed even before the Aceh tsunami in 2004, which killed more than 220,000 people.

Although earthquakes are usually difficult to predict, they should be anticipated with mitigation measures, experts and politicians have said in recent days.

Indonesian House of Representatives member Daniel Johan said the possibility of a strong earthquake in Indonesia should be a serious concern for the government.

“Do not let the initial information conveyed by BMKG be rejected (and as a result) we do not make preparations,” Daniel said, according to the Java Pos news agency.

In response to the agency's warning, the Social Affairs Ministry said it had sent a team to Mentawai Island in West Sumatra to map areas likely to be at risk of strong earthquakes and tsunamis.

The team consists of personnel from the Ministry's Disaster Preparedness Team (TAJANA) and BMKG.

In addition to mapping the area, the team will also provide advice and inform residents on how to respond to disasters and prepare for evacuation, Social Affairs Minister Tri Rismaharini said.

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