5 Tsunami Detector Devices In Cianjur South Sea Not Working, BMKG Asks Local Government And Residents To Be Prepared For Potential Disasters

South coast of Cianjur, West Java (ANTARA/Ahmad Fikri). (Ahmad Fikri)

CIANJUR - The Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency (BMKG) warned residents on the southern coast of Cianjur, West Java, of the potential for earthquakes and tsunamis by alerting their officers and volunteers to immediately evacuate.

"BMKG asks every local government and community to continue to increase vigilance to anticipate the worst. Especially now, the five Tsunami Early Warning System (TEWS) detectors in the southern sea of Cianjur are not functioning," said Secretary of the Cianjur BPBD, Rudi Wibowo, as reported by ANTARA, Monday, August 1st.

Rudi explained that tsunami detectors installed on the southern coast of Cianjur, including Cidaun, Sindangbarang and Agrabinta, had not been functioning for a long time. A check from BNPB had been carried out a few days ago, but his party could not confirm whether it was connected or not.

The damage to the tsunami detector is suspected to be due to the weather and the length of time it has been installed in the waters so that it cannot function properly.

"If the damage was several years ago and has been reported, it was only a few days ago that it was examined by BNPB, we are still waiting for the results," said Rudi.

The Chief Executive (Kalak) of the Cianjur BPBD, Fatah Rizal, said that his party continued to communicate with BNPB and BMKG regarding the threat of earthquakes and tsunamis in the South Java Sea, including the Cianjur coast because so far it has been included in the disaster red zone.

"We have also alerted 150 Disaster Resilient Volunteers (Retana) in three sub-districts to conduct surveillance and report immediately if they see signs of impending disaster. We are also making preparations such as installing and adding evacuation route signs and disaster education," he said.

Meanwhile, since the last few days, his party has received various assistance from the West Java Provincial Government including evacuation signs and other logistical assistance.

"We also urge residents to be observant in reading natural signs of impending disaster and evacuate immediately," he said.