Getting To Know The Garsela Fault, The Most Active Earthquake Trigger Fault In West Java

Illustration of earthquakes. (Pixabay)

YOGYAKARTA Some people may want to get to know the Garsela fault which is known as the most active fault in West Java.

The fault was once the trigger for a destructive earthquake in Garut, West Java in early February 2023. The 4.3 magnitude earthquake damaged 495 houses and 8 schools.

Not only that, earthquake activity was even felt in Bandung, Lembang, Pangalengan, Pacet, Cileunyi, and Sumedang.

Getting To Know Garsela Fault

Summarized from various sources, Thursday, February 16, 2023, the Garsela Fault or also known as the South Garut Fault is one of the active faults in the southern part of West Java.

The structure of the Garsela Fault stretches from the south of Garut to the south of Bandung as far as 42 kilometers (km).

The Garsela fault consists of two segments, namely the Rakutai (utarine) segment which stretches along 19 km and the 17 km (south) Kencana segment.

The two segments of the Garsela Fault are said to have the same active activity. The earthquake natural disaster that occurs in the Garsela fault zone dominantly has a sliding fault source mechanism (strike slip).

If you observe a number of earthquake clusters in southern Garut, you will see a pattern of the Garsela fault zone in the southwest-east direction.

The Garsela fault is called the most active fault in West Java because since 2008, BMKG has recorded clusters of seismic activity in this fault zone.

To date, experts do not yet know the shift rate of targeted faults and magnitudes that Garsela faults can release. This is a challenge for earthquake geologists and geodesics to uncover it.

Adapted from CNBC Indonesia, the earthquake caused by the Garsela fault in recent years, shows relatively low magnitude. However, because it is very shallow, the earthquake caused by the Garsela fault can be felt strongly by the community.

This makes people living on the Garsela fault lane have to be vigilant because shallow epicenters can cause damage.

In this regard, the Regional Disaster Management Agency (BPBD) of Garut Regency, West Java asked residents living on the Garsela Fault earthquake, namely Pasirwangi and Samararang sub-districts, to build houses safe from earthquake shocks in order to avoid the risk of a disaster impact..

"In addition to disaster mitigation, we also recommend to the community to build houses that are earthquake resistant," said Garut Regency BPBD Executive Satria Budi in Garut, Wednesday, March 15, 2023, quoted from Antara.

The suggestion is in accordance with recommendations from the Center for Volcanology on Geological Hazard Mitigation (PVMBG) team regarding efforts to avoid danger in the event of an earthquake.

From the results of the PVMBG study, it shows that several areas in Samarang and Pasirwangi sub-districts are areas that are active areas of the Garsela Fault earthquake, meaning that earthquakes can occur at any time.

"That includes the Sesar Garsela area, at any time an earthquake occurs, at any time hopefully there will be no disasters," he said.

Ia mengatakan ada potensi bencana di daerah tersebut sehingga pemerintah setempat melakukan upaya mitigasi bencana alam bagi masyarakat guna mengurangi dampak risiko bencana, kemudian masyarakat yang ingin membangun atau memperbaiki rumah dapat membuat bangunan tahan gempa..

In addition, he continued, people do not build houses in dangerous locations such as cliffs or cliffs.

That's information about the Garsela fault. Read on VOI.ID to get other interesting news.