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High waves destroy all tsunami sirens in Gunung Kidul
The National Disaster Mitigation Agency revealed that high waves, which hit Gunung Kidul beach in Yogyakarta on Wednesday and Thursday, destroyed all the tsunami sirens within the Gunung Kidul beach tourist area.
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Drini beach in Gunung Kidul regency, Yogyakarta. (Shutterstock/File)
T
he National Disaster Mitigation Agency (BNPB) revealed that high waves, which hit Gunung Kidul beach in Yogyakarta on Wednesday and Thursday, destroyed all the tsunami sirens within the Gunung Kidul beach tourist area.
“Seven tsunami sirens at Gunung Kidul beach have been destroyed. Right now there are no tsunami sirens available in the Gunung Kidul residential and tourist areas,” BNPB spokesperson Sutopo said on Thursday morning via his official Twitter account.
Tsunami sirens are crucial for the local community, especially for people in Yogyakarta, who experienced a powerful magnitude 6.3 earthquake in 2006 that killed more than 6,000 people and displaced more than 200,000.
“We need to replace them immediately, to protect the community,” Sutopo added.
Sigit Hadi Prakoso, a forecaster at the Yogyakarta office of the Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency (BMKG) recently said that the high waves had been triggered by differences in air pressure thanks to tropical cyclone Son Tinh in the South China Sea, followed by tropical cyclone Ampil.
This led to high wind speeds that later resulted in high waves on the beaches along Java’s southern coast.
A team of experts from Gadjah Mada University (UGM) and BMKG have said the high waves had so far caused over Rp 2 billion (US$138,446) in financial losses in the province alone.
The high waves destroyed a total of 24 gazebos, five fishing ships, four kiosks, four stalls and 20 nets on the beaches located along the province’s southern coast. (swd)
