Potential Tsunami Occurs In Jakarta, BRIN Strengthens Sea-Face Detection Sensors

Tsunami illustration (photo: dock. NOAA)

JAKARTA A very large tsunami hit Aceh two decades ago. Reflecting on this incident, the National Research and Innovation Agency (BRIN) invited the Indonesian people to be more vigilant.

Nuraini Rahma Hanifa, Researcher at the BRIN Center for Geological Disaster Research, said that potential disasters in the form of megathrust earthquakes could occur in the southern region of Java and trigger a tsunami with a scale similar to Aceh.

Based on the results of his research, megathrust in southern Java, including the Sunda Strait, stores tectonic energy that has the potential to release earthquakes with a strength of 8.7 to 9.1 on the richter scale. If this earthquake occurs, the tsunami will strike the Jakarta area.

"The potential for this megathrust can trigger a large earthquake and tsunami, which spreads through the Sunda Strait to Jakarta with an arrival time of about 2.5 hours," said Rahma, quoted on the official BRIN website on Monday, January 6.

Although this does not necessarily happen, Rahma said that the results of this research need to be seriously considered by stakeholders and the Indonesian people. The reason is, risk mitigation needs to be done from various sides, including the technology.

Rahma also explained that in the paleetsunnami study, the megathrust earthquake in southern Java turned out to have a repeat period of around 400 to 600 years. The last tsunami is estimated to occur in 1699 in the region.

To mitigate the tsunami in southern Java, BRIN continues to work closely with BMKG and other institutions to strengthen the tsunami early warning system, especially in the Sunda Strait and southern Java. They have installed water change detection sensors in vulnerable areas.

"One of the efforts made is the installation of a sea level change detection sensor in a tsunami-prone area," said Rahma. This technology is very necessary because BRIN can detect when the tsunami will occur and they will give a warning quickly to the local community.