UGM Experts Ask The Public Not To Worry Too Much About Megathrust

YOGYAKARTA - Earthquake expert at Gadjah Mada University (UGM)rah Indah Marliyani asked the public not to worry too much about the potential for the Megathrust earthquake which is predicted to shake Indonesia.

rah Indah Marliyani in her statement in Yogyakarta, Sunday, stated that related to the threat of the Megathrust earthquake, the most important thing is that the community can build readiness.

"The business to prepare yourself needs to be done immediately. Understand each other's position on the possibility of a disaster. Don't wait for a disaster to happen, then be reactive, but always prepare yourself," he said.

Regarding the possible location that became the epicenter of the large earthquake, according to▁pengetahuanus, it usually exists around the subduction zone boundaries that exist between the two plates, namely continental plates and ocean plates.

Plates that cannot move, he said, hoarding greater energy are released into large earthquakes so that they have the potential to become tsunamis.

aim, who is also a lecturer at the UGM Geological Engineering, said the biggest Megathrust earthquake had ever occurred in the subduction zone in Valdivia, South Chile, at 9.5 magnitudes.

Meanwhile, the active subduction zone in Indonesia includes the southern area of Java Island which extends from the west of Sumatra to the Sunda Strait, the eastern area of Java Island, and the south of Lombok Island.

"The potential of Megathrust in this area is large because of its historical value, namely the 2004 Aceh earthquake and the 2006 Pangandaran earthquake. To find out whether there is another possible earthquake or not, it needs to be measured from the instrumentation of geological data," he said.

UGM Center for Natural Disaster Studies (PSBA) researcher Galih Aries Privateto said the government needs to pay attention to the management of the Megathrust disaster in accordance with the Law on Disaster Management which states that disaster management is the responsibility and authority of the government.

Aries also emphasized the importance for the government to handle both before, during a disaster, and after a disaster.

Therefore, education to the public about disaster knowledge and ways to overcome it also needs to be encouraged.

"Disaster service is a basic service that must be prioritized in addition to other sectors. There are and there is no budget, it must still be prioritized and worked on," said Aries.

According to him, the early warning system in Indonesia has gone well which is able to integrate all kinds of disasters so that they can be detected.