PVMBG: The Phenomenon Of Gas And Heat In Cugenang Due To Natural Gas

The owner of a house in Cijedil Village, Cugenang District, Cianjur, West Java, shows the location of the hot house floor and emits a gas odor. ANTARA/Ahmad Fikri

The Center for Volcanology and Geological Hazard Mitigation (PVMBG) predicts the phenomenon of hot gas and terrace floors in residents' houses in Cugenang District due to natural gas that came out of cracks after the Cianjur earthquake, West Java, in 2022.

Main Earth Investigator from PVMBG Supartoyo said several reasons for the smell of gas and heat on the floor of a resident's house in Cijedil Village, Cugenang District, occurred underground and research was immediately carried out.

"There are many possible causes of the phenomenon on the terrace of the residents' houses which suddenly heats up after a vibration appears, allegedly due to natural gas that goes out due to cracks after the 2022 earthquake," he said as quoted by ANTARA, Wednesday, November 19.

The phenomenon of the floor at a resident's house suddenly hot can be caused by several possibilities such as gas from magma or hot water below the ground surface, magma gas, or local biogenic gas based on hypothesis or temporary suspicion.

In fact, his party noted that residents' houses experienced this phenomenon, located in areas affected by the earthquake, plus before the emergence of the heat, several times the shock felt by the owner of the house.

Before the smell of gas and hot floors, the owner had heard several vibrations that were suspected of causing cracks from the earthquake, he said.

He hopes that the smell of gas and hot air on the floor of a resident's house can be lost as soon as the source has decreased, but this is a hypothesis or temporary suspicion, so to ensure that research must be carried out.

"To find out the exact cause, further research is needed or based on research data," he said.

Currently, the Regional Disaster Management Agency (BPBD) of Cianjur Regency is waiting for the results of the inspection by the Center for Volcanology and Geological Disaster Mitigation (PVMBG) to determine the cause of the smell of gas and hot air from the floor of the residents of Cijedil Village, Cugenang District.

Secretary of BPBD Cianjur Regency, Asep Sudrajat, said that his party had visited a resident's house in Cijedil Village which reportedly emitted a gas odor and a hot floor and asked the owner to temporarily evacuate.

"The owner and his family have fled to his brother's house to avoid unwanted things while waiting for confirmation from the PVMBG which we have sent a letter for examination," he said.