JAKARTA - The National Research and Innovation Agency (BRIN) uses PUMMA to strengthen the tsunami early warning system. This technology was also used during the 7.6 magnitude earthquake in North Maluku.
PUMMA, short for Cheap Measurement Device for Sea Surface, is a technology that works by recording sea water dynamics in real-time. This tool is able to detect tsunami threats without relying on time-consuming earthquake modeling.
"This PUMMA immediately recorded the tsunami, so without modeling, it immediately recorded the tsunami in real time," said BRIN Geological Disaster Research Center Researcher Semeidi Husrin, quoted from the BRIN official website on Tuesday, April 7.
The geographical conditions of East Indonesia, which has many small islands, are considered ideal as a location for installing this device. The islands serve as natural monitoring points to detect waves before reaching densely populated coasts.
For earthquakes in North Maluku, PUMMA is planned to be installed on Maju Island and Batang Dua Island which are very close to the epicenter. The placement of these sensors is expected to accelerate the dissemination of warning information to the public.
Semeidi revealed that PUMMA has been installed for six years in the Sunda Strait to monitor the activities of Anak Krakatau Mountain. Currently, PUMMA is the only tsunami monitoring system caused by volcanic activity in the Indonesian region.
Semeidi also reminded that the threat of a tsunami does not only come from earthquakes, but also underwater landslides and volcanic eruptions. Properly installed sea-level sensors can detect non-earthquake tsunamis that are often not detected by seismic sensors.
The biggest challenge currently faced is the very short evacuation time or golden time, which is less than 30 minutes. The characteristics of near-shore tsunamis in Indonesia require a faster early warning system to the residential areas.
The PUMMA multisensor system is still being developed to date through collaboration with various national and international partners. This is done to ensure that the PUMMA detection results remain accurate.
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