Serious Warning! Beware Of The Great Earthquake After The Mentawai Earthquake

Photo via Antara

JAKARTA - The Earthquake and Tsunami Mitigation of Meteorology Climatology and Geophysics Agency (BMKG) Coordinator, Daryono, asked people around the epicenter of the Mentawai Islands earthquake, West Sumatra, to be aware of the possibility of a larger earthquake. This is because there has been no major earthquake in the area for a long time.

"We should increase our vigilance regarding this morning's earthquake, considering that this zone is a seismic gap that has been around for more than 200 years. Whether this is an opening earthquake or not is still difficult to predict," he said in a press release in Jakarta, Monday, March 14, as reported by Antara.

The last major earthquake in the zone was an earthquake measuring about 8.5 on the Richter scale on February 10, 1797, or 225 years ago. At that time, a large tsunami hit the coast and coast of Padang City.

"It should be noted that the powerful earthquake in the Mentawai Islands with a magnitude of 8.5 on February 10, 1797, triggered a tsunami in Mentawai, West Sumatra, which hit the coast and river mouths to inundate the coast of Padang City," he said.

He also said that the tsunami disaster at that time claimed many lives.

"Many houses were washed away, even a large ship could be pushed 5.5 km inland. This tsunami killed more than 300 people," he said.

The BMKG requests that if a strong earthquake occurs, people in coastal areas are asked to immediately carry out independent evacuations without waiting for a tsunami early warning from the BMKG.

"As an anticipatory measure, to coastal communities, in the event of a stronger earthquake, carry out independent evacuation efforts by moving away from the coast without waiting for a tsunami early warning from the BMKG. Self-evacuation is an effort that can guarantee safety from a tsunami," said Daryono.