JAKARTA - The National Disaster Management Agency (BNPB) has asked people in five provinces of Indonesia with tsunami alert status to immediately stay away from and vacate the coastal area until the official warning is lifted by the authorities.
The tsunami early warning was issued by the Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency (BMKG) after an earthquake with a magnitude of 8.7 in the Kamchatka region, Russia, on Wednesday morning.
Beach areas that have bay formations such as in Yotefa, Papua, have the potential to experience wave height amplification. So people should vacate the coastal area," said BNPB Main Secretary Rustian at a press conference in Jakarta, Wednesday, July 30.
Rustian said all stakeholders in North Sulawesi, Gorontalo, North Maluku, Papua, and West Papua were asked to immediately convey this information persuasively to the public to reduce the risk and avoid panic.
He gave an example of the Japanese tsunami in 2011 which was recorded only 33 centimeters high in the measuring instrument (tide gauge), but reached 3.8 meters after entering the bay waters.
"For this reason, people are advised to stay away from the beach for at least one kilometer and do so no later than an hour before the estimated tsunami time. Stay alert two to three hours after the first wave arrives," he said.
Rustian also reminded that the first wave of the tsunami was not always the biggest. The second, third, or fourth wave has the potential to be bigger.
"We will hold an evaluation meeting at 18.00 WIB," he added, accompanied by the Head of the BNPB Disaster Information and Communication Data Center Abdul Muhari.
Meanwhile, BMKG has set a tsunami alert status for 10 regions of Indonesia, with an estimated wave height of less than 0.5 meters.
The following are the areas that are included in the list:
1. Talaud Islands (estimation arrives at 14.52.24 WITA)
2. North Halmahera (16.04.24 WIT)
3. Manokwari (16.08.54 WIT)
4. Raja Ampat (16.18.54 WIT)
5. Biak Numfor and Supiori (16.21.54 WIT)
6. North Sorong (16.24.54 WIT)
7. Jayapura and Sarmi (16.30.24 WIT)
8. Gorontalo City (16.39.54 WITA)
The earthquake that triggered the tsunami warning came from Palung Kurile-Kamchatka with a depth of 18 kilometers, due to plate subduction activity with an upward fault mechanism.
SEE ALSO:
Based on the BMKG report as of 08.30 WIB, there have been seven aftershocks, with the largest magnitude 6.9 and the smallest 5.4. Pacific Tsunami Warning Center (PTWC) also reported similar tsunami potential in the regions of Russia, Japan, Alaska, the Philippines, Hawaii, and Guam.
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