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Megathrust caution renews call for robust risk mitigation
BMKG Earthquake and Tsunami Center head Daryono raised concerns about the potential for massive earthquakes along the Sunda Strait and Mentawai-Siberut megathrust zones, following the powerful magnitude 7.1 earthquake that hit Japan’s southwest on Aug. 8, injuring at least 15 people.
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Residents clear rubble from their home in Ciamis regency, West Java, on April 28, 2024 after a magnitude-6.2 earthquake the previous night. (Antara/Adeng Bustomi)
T
he Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency’s (BMKG) recent warning on the potential for megathrust earthquakes in the country has renewed calls for the government to draft more robust mitigation plans and reduce the impact of potential future disasters on people, property and the environment.
Last Monday, BMKG Earthquake and Tsunami Center head Daryono raised concerns about the potential for massive earthquakes along the Sunda Strait and Mentawai-Siberut megathrust zones, following the powerful magnitude 7.1 earthquake that hit Japan’s southwest on Aug. 8, injuring at least 15 people.
Daryono said that powerful earthquakes in parts of Java and Sumatra were “only a matter of time”, given that it had been hundreds of years since the last major earthquake and tsunami hit those regions.
However, in a follow up statement released on Thursday, he gave an assurance that the megathrust caution “is not an early warning or prediction that a major earthquake is about to happen” as there was no technology that could accurately predict when or where a potential earthquake is likely to occur.
Daryono further stated that such megaquake cautions had not just been issued recently, but had been raised by experts and monitored by the government long before a 9.3 magnitude quake struck off Aceh in 2004, unleashing a devastating tsunami that left more than 220,000 dead across the Indian Ocean in hours.
“Therefore, we encourage the public to remain calm and carry on with their [daily] activities like fishing at sea and enjoying their holiday on the beach,” he continued.
