The Meteorology, Climatology, and Geophysics Agency (BMKG) recently alarmed Indonesia for a Big Impact Earthquake and Tsunami due to two apparently long dormant megathrust Faults. Understandably, this raises much concern among the population. However, according to BMKG, Indonesians should stay still as there is no need to panic and at the same time, do not misunderstand the warnings.
A couple of days ago, BMKG warned that a massive earthquake with a tsunami in Indonesia was just a matter of time, as two long-duration megathrust faults remained unreleased with considerable energy. The warning comes on the heels of a powerful magnitude 7.1 earthquake that triggered a tsunami in Japan’s waters off the Naikai Megathrust on Friday.
Dwikorita Karnawati, head of BMKG, said that the watches and warnings released related to potential Megathrust earthquakes are not something new to Indonesia. Indeed, BMKG had made similar warnings in 2018, which generated much public concern at the time.
“Before, we were concerned with the public hysteria over the warnings of the Megathrust earthquakes, but this time we urge people to stop getting panicked with almost the same status of conditions as of 2018,” said Dwikorita.
She justified that BMKG’s recent warning was taken mainly for the purpose of preparation and not for striking fear into Indonesians. It is preparedness, and not causing alarm, that the interest of the country with its vulnerability toward earthquakes has most at the core of concern.
“What is the purpose behind this warning? The goal is not to scare people but to ensure we are prepared,” Dwikorita said.
She also added that local governments in earthquake- and tsunami-prone areas have to undertake more mitigation efforts, including public education. “Not to make them panic or confused,” she said.
Read also: Megathrust Earthquake Threatens Indonesia, It’s Just a Matter of Time!
Dwikorita urged people to remain calm as there is no need to post complicated issues regarding megathrust grip on social media. The message now lies in preparing and understanding mitigation measures.
“It was all about preparedness, not the discussions that were going on like a rumor and made people panic. I thought the discussions were enough,” said Dwikorita.
“The complicated discussion is for the expert. The public has to follow the expert’s advice through practicing, learning from, and the training of a similar situation to the case of Japan,” she said.
On her Twitter account, Dwikorita emphasized once more that the statement from BMKG, which stated Megathrust earthquakes are “just a matter of time,” is not a tsunami warning. Earthquakes do not have prediction times, unlike extreme weather and tsunamis.
“Extreme weather can be predicted through satellite observation of the clouds and earthquake magnitude and epicenter for tsunami forecasting,” she added.
“This is no tsunami warning but a wake-up call for preparation and readiness,” said Dwikorita.
