ASIATODAY.ID, JAKARTA – People in Indonesia are busy discussing the potential for a megathrust earthquake which they fear will occur in the future.
This concern occurred after the megathrust earthquake that hit Nankai, Japan with a strength of M 7.1 on Thursday, August 8 2024.
Megathrust earthquakes are very large earthquakes that occur in subduction zones, areas where one of the Earth’s tectonic plates is pushed under another plate.
The two plates normally continue to move closer to each other, but become “stuck” where they touch. Eventually, the strain buildup exceeds the friction between the two plates and a large megathrust earthquake occurs.
Head of the Earthquake and Tsunami Center of the Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency (BMKG), Daryono, said that Japanese scientists’ concerns about the Nankai Megathrust were exactly the same as those felt by Indonesian scientists.
In particular, what needs to be watched out for in Indonesia is the Seismic Gap Megathrust of the Sunda Strait (M 8.7) and the Mentawai-Suberut Megathrust (M 8.9).
“It could be said that the release of an earthquake in these two segments of the megathrust is just a matter of time because it has been hundreds of years since a major earthquake occurred in these two areas,” he said in an official statement some time ago.
However, Daryono clarified the use of the phrase “it’s just a matter of time”. In a post on his personal X account, Daryono emphasized that the warning did not mean that the Megathrust earthquake would soon hit Indonesia.
“‘Just waiting for time’ does not mean it will happen in the near future, because earthquake events cannot be predicted,” he said, quoted Monday, August 19 2024.
“We don’t know when it will happen. We say ‘wait for time’ because the segments of the earthquake source around it have already been released (only that segment has not been released),” he added.
Previously, Daryono also said there was no need to worry. As an anticipatory and mitigation measure, BMKG has prepared a system for monitoring, processing and disseminating information on earthquakes and tsunami early warnings that is increasingly fast and accurate.
Daryono said what happened in Japan could be monitored in real time and analyzed quickly.
BMKG, said Daryono, can model the tsunami that will occur and its impact using the InaTEWS (Indonesia Tsunami Early Warning System) system, so that BMKG will immediately disseminate earthquake information and tsunami early warnings throughout Indonesia, especially northern Indonesia.
Ring of Fire
Indonesia is indeed one of the countries that is prone to major disasters from year to year. This disaster cost Indonesia trillions in losses.
Indonesia is also crossed by various active volcanoes or can be called the ‘Ring of Fire’. This position is one of the reasons why Indonesia is so prone to disasters.
Quoted from the United States National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration page, the Ring of Fire is an area in the Pacific Ocean that has more than 450 active volcanoes. This area stretches from New Zealand, Japan, across the Bering Strait, through the West coast of the United States and ends at the tip of South America.
Indonesia received the nickname “Ring of Fire” because of its position on the Pacific Ring of Fire. This region stretches for 40,000 km around the Pacific Ocean, where earthquakes and volcanic eruptions often occur.
The region is known as the most active earthquake path in the world consisting of ocean trenches, volcanic arcs and volcanic belts. All of them are located close to each other.
Because it is located on this route, Indonesia experiences many earthquakes and volcanic eruptions. Moreover, its position is above three continental plate collisions, namely the Indo-Australian Plate in the south, the Eurasian Plate in the north, and the Pacific Plate in the east.
Not only that, disasters that hit Indonesia are not only caused by natural factors such as earthquakes, tsunamis and volcanic eruptions. But it is also often hit by floods, tornadoes, landslides, and forest and land fires.
Floods, landslides and forest and land fires are more often caused by human behavior in clearing land. Floods and landslides occur due to high intensity rain accompanied by a lack of absorption areas in the highlands due to massive land clearing.
Likewise forest and land fires, where massive land clearing by burning land also causes this disaster. (AT Network)
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