ASIATODAY.ID, JAKARTA – Indonesia needs to be aware of potential geological disasters that could occur at any time.
Geographically, Indonesia is located at the intersection of four main tectonic plates, namely the Eurasian Plate, the Indo-Australian Plate, the Pacific Plate and the Philippine Plate.
This position makes Indonesia very vulnerable to geological activities such as earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, ground movements and tsunamis. In a year, more than 800 incidents of land movement are recorded in Indonesia.
“Indonesia’s geographically complex position and geological activity have an impact on the extent of disaster-prone areas which cover 195.9 million people. Based on the updated map of Land Movement Vulnerability Zones, there are 40.9 million people affected. This requires mitigation and preparedness of all parties by entering the current rainy season,” said Head of the Center for Volcanology and Geological Disaster Mitigation, Geological Agency, Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources of Indonesia, P. Hadi Wijaya, Saturday, October 5 2024.
Hadi continued geological disaster mitigation can be done in various ways, including by providing public education and awareness (campaigns and training), building disaster-resistant infrastructure, disaster risk management and early warning.
“Through a structured and holistic approach, Indonesia can better anticipate and face the challenges of geological disasters, thereby reducing losses and protecting the community,” continued Hadi.
Indonesia’s location between four major tectonic plates has an impact on the existence of 127 active volcanoes, with 69 of them being fully monitored for 24 hours by the Geological Agency.
“This is the largest number in the world,” said Supartoyo, Principal Earth Investigator at the Center for Volcanology and Geological Disaster Mitigation in his scientific oration as a guest lecturer at the Sepuluh Nopember Institute of Technology (ITS) on the same day.
Supartoyo also explained that from 2000 to 2024, Indonesia recorded around 12-15% of the total earthquake events in the world.
“Earthquakes in Indonesia account for around 12 to 15% of all earthquake events in the world. During this period, Indonesia experienced between 5 and 29 destructive earthquakes every year. Destructive earthquakes are earthquakes that result in casualties, environmental damage and geological damage surface,” he added.
Apart from earthquakes, Indonesia has also experienced 18 tsunami incidents in the last 29 years. Meanwhile, land movements that occur in Indonesia reach more than 800 events every year, most of which are triggered by high rainfall, slope slopes and rock unit lithology, although some of them are also caused by earthquakes.
“We have a history of tsunamis with significant submergence heights, such as what happened in Aceh. What is interesting is that the source of tsunamis in Indonesia does not only come from the megathrust zone, but also from other non-tectonic zones such as volcanic eruptions. Meanwhile, ground movements occur in Indonesia it reaches more than 800 a year, a very extraordinary number,” said Supartoyo.
Being located in a tectonic active zone does increase the risk of geological disasters, but it also provides benefits in the form of abundant natural resource wealth. Therefore, a balance between the use of natural resources and disaster risk management is very important for Indonesia. (AT Network)
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