INDONESIA PREPARES BANTEN’S COASTAL COMMUNITIES FOR QUAKES AND TSUNAMIS

JAKARTA, Oct 19 (Bernama) -- Indonesia is stepping up disaster preparedness in Pandeglang regency, one of Banten Province’s most hazard-prone areas, as experts warn that rising seismic activity and increasingly complex tsunami triggers pose a growing threat to local communities.

The Meteorology, Climatology, and Geophysics Agency (BMKG) stressed that raising public awareness and preparedness is crucial to strengthen community vigilance in a region near Jakarta that has long been affected by deadly earthquakes and tsunamis.

“Disaster risk can genuinely be reduced if we carry out planned and measured mitigation efforts involving all parties, including local communities,” said BMKG seismology director Setyoajie Prayoedhie during the Earthquake and Tsunami Field School programme in Pandeglang on Saturday.

He said Pandeglang faces multiple hazards, including the southern Java Megathrust Zone capable of generating earthquakes up to magnitude 8.9, active fault lines such as Semangko and Ujung Kulon, submarine landslides in the Sunda Strait Graben Zone, and volcanic activity from Mount Anak Krakatau.

As part of the field school, participants are trained using simulations of BMKG’s Indonesia Earthquake Early Warning System (InaEEWS), a real-time monitoring system.

The agency is also promoting the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organisation-Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission (UNESCO-IOC) Tsunami Ready programme, which sets 12 indicators to help communities achieve greater resilience.

To strengthen early warning capabilities, BMKG has installed three Warning Receiver System New Generation (WRS-NG) units at strategic locations, with sirens in coastal villages such as Teluk Labuan and Sidamukti alerting residents directly.

On Dec 22, 2018, a tsunami triggered by a landslide from Mount Anak Krakatau struck Sumur district in Pandeglang and surrounding areas, killing at least 292 people, injuring nearly 4,000, and displacing tens of thousands.

The following year, a magnitude 6.9 earthquake caused widespread panic across the district.

Indonesia lies along the Pacific Ring of Fire, a seismically active zone encircling the Pacific Ocean where tectonic movements frequently trigger earthquakes, tsunamis, and volcanic eruptions.

-- BERNAMA