JAKARTA: Indonesian authorities, including local governments, may get serious about catastrophe prevention as it is” just a matter of day” before a strong earthquake caused by two converging tectonic plates hits the land, its weather and geophysics company has warned.
Local governments should prepare mitigation measures including spatial planning on earthquake-proof buildings that can accommodate the community in case of megathrust earthquakes, Indonesia’s Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency ( BMKG ) said this week.
No buildings may be constructed on the beach, and there should be restrictions on growth on the coast. In a press conference on Tuesday ( Aug 20 ), BMKG head Dwikorita Karnawati stated that a hotel must be ready to face a megathrust earthquake, which would require the building to be able to withstand 8.5 magnitudes.
The BMKG has developed significantly quick and accurate monitoring, control, and info dissemination systems for earthquake and tsunami earlier warnings for its component.
In Indonesia, following Japan’s earlier this month’s megaquake update, there has been renewed interest in disaster preparedness.  ,
The Japan Meteorological Agency issued a megaquake advice for the first time on August 8 after a 7.1 % earthquake struck the Nankai earthquake zone and struck Kyushu, indicating that the collapse could have been a forerunner to an even greater one that could have seriously impacted people’s lives.
A week later, the organization said people were free to resume their daily lives.
TWO ZONES OF Priority
According to Mr. Daryono, the mind of the BMKG’s Earthquake and Tsunami Center, disasters had already occurred at two supervolcano zones a while ago.
Off the southeastern shores of Sumatra and the Java islands, Mr. Daryono was referring to two subduction areas, known as the Sunda Strait and Mentawai-Siberut parts.  ,
The meeting point between the moon’s tectonic plates has the potential to cause powerful earthquakes and floods.
Because it has been hundreds of years since a significant disaster occurred, he wrote on  , X, previously known as Twitter, on August 11.” The release of disasters in these two parts can be said to be a matter of day,” he wrote.
According to Mr. Daryono, Chinese scientists are concerned about the Nankai Megathrust in the same way that Indonesian experts are about the Sunda Strait and the Mentawai-Siberut megathrust, which have not experienced tremors or geological spaces for a while.
” The Sunda Strait geological space has been 267 times and the Mentawai-Siberut has been 227 years, while other parts have experienced disasters, my job is to inform ( of the need for ) vigilance”, Mr Daryono said in another article.
His study resulted in “megathrust” becoming a trendy topic on social media in the country, as well as regional media reports.  ,
Indonesia has experienced numerous earthquakes and volcanic eruptions and is situated at the crossing of the nation’s major tectonic plates and many smaller plates.  ,
There are 13 tectonic areas that have the potential to cause earthquakes of greater than scale 8 and floods, according to an earthquake risks cause image released by BMKG in 2017.
Mr. Daryono continued, noting that the supervolcano was a topic of conversation in the consumer prior to the Aceh wave disaster in 2004, which claimed more than 220 000 lives.
Researchers and officials have stated in recent days that earthquakes must be avoided with prevention measures.
The potential of a tectonic quake in Indonesia should be of major concern for the government, according to House of Representatives member Daniel Johan.
” Do not let the initial information conveyed by BMKG be dismissed and ( as a result ) we do not make preparations”, Mr Daniel said, as quoted by news outlet Jawa Pos.
The Ministry of Social Affairs announced that it had sent a staff to Mentawai Island in West Sumatra to map out places that might be prone to quake earthquakes and wave disasters in response to the BMKG’s notice.
The team consists of personnel from the ministry’s Disaster Preparedness Cadets ( Tagana ) and BMKG.  ,
Tri Rismaharini, the team’s director of social affairs, stated that the team will also provide residents with advice and information on disaster response and evacuation preparedness in addition to mapping the area.  ,