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As Indonesia recovers from the carnage of a new natural disaster, authorities around the world are looking for ways to prepare for the kind of tsunami that hit the coast at the time of the war. West Jakarta this month
Nine days ago, in the Sunda Strait, a link between the Java Sea and the Indian Ocean, the eruption of a volcano generated devastating waves that killed more than 400 people.
Read more: Indonesia's tsunami deaths exceed 420
According to the Indonesian Disaster Relief Agency, there are at least 20 missing and more than 40,000 homeless
The vast archipelago, located in the Pacific Ring of Fire with seismic activity, has had a difficult year, strewn with tsunamis and earthquakes. And the last tsunami was once again causing difficulties in relief and disaster prevention.
No siren alarm was triggered in these cities and beaches to prevent the population from surrendering before the series of deadly waves hit the coast. Seismologists and authorities, a perfect combination of factors caused the tsunami and made early detection almost impossible, depending on the equipment available on site.
But the disaster should serve as a warning to intensify research on tsunami triggers and preparations. "said a number of experts, some of whom traveled to Southeast Asia to investigate what happened.
" Indonesia has shown the rest of the world the wide variety of sources that can cause tsunamis. Further research is needed to understand the less expected events, "said Stephen Hicks, a seismologist at the University of Southampton.
Most of the recorded tsunamis were caused by earthquakes, but this time it was an eruption of the Anak Krakatau volcano that caused the partial collapse of its crater in the sea at high tide, sending waves up to 5 meters high to reach densely populated coastal areas on the islands of Java and Sumatra
Failure of previous earthquake
However, this fact does not exempt the authorities from failing.The tsunami last September on the island of Sulawesi was caused by an earthquake and, according to the experts, clbadic alerts failed in the "last mile" before the arrival of the waves.
After the 7.5 degree earthquake, they surprised those who were were reopened in the region, reaching up to 6 meters in height, according to a German research center that has developed an alert system used in Indonesia.
Germany had sent to the country an alert system developed by GFZ after the devastating tsunami of 2004, which killed about 226,000 people in the region.
About the failure of the alert, the company said the problem was the lack of adequate communication of the authorities with the people who were on the spot, after the equipment When from the last eruption, it is estimated that 180 million cubic meters, or about two-thirds of the volcanic island less than 100 years old.
s, fell into the sea. The event did not significantly shock the seismic monitors and the absence of seismic signals normally badociated with tsunamis led to the Indonesian Geophysical Agency (BMKG ). )
Muhamad Unfortunately, the BMKG's Chief of Geophysics, his tide monitors have not been set up to trigger tsunami warnings during non-seismic events.
Fumihiko Imamura, of the Japan disaster survey, said that he did not think that even the current warning system in Japan would not have detected a tsunami like Sunda Strait.
"We still have risks in Japan … because there are 111 active volcanoes and a low capacity for monitoring tsunami-causing eruptions," he said in Jakarta.
Scientists have long reported the fall of Anak Krakatau, about 155 km west of the capital, as a concern. A study published in 2005 by the Geological Society of London considered the "tsunami risk".
Anak Krakatau emerged from the Krakatoa volcano, which erupted in 1883 during one of the largest explosions ever recorded, making more than 36,000 deaths. series of tsunamis and lowering the overall temperature of the surface of a degree Celsius with its ashes.
Broken Alarm System
Some experts believe that there has been enough time for the at least partial detection of the tsunami.
But a national tsunami warning system for buoys connected to seabed sensors has been stalled since 2012 due to "
" The lack of early warning system explains why the Saturday's tsunami was not detected, "said spokesman for the humanitarian agency Sutopo Nugroho, adding that of the 1,000 tsunami sirens needed in Indonesia, only 56 are in the region.
"The warning signs of a tsunami were not detected and no one was detected have had time to evacuate. "
President Joko Widodo this week ordered BMKG to buy new early warning systems.The agency later announced that it was planning to install three tsunami buoys on the islands around Anak Krakatau
.The cost of national coverage is estimated at 7 trillion rupees (US $ 481.10 million), which is about the total budget of Disaster response of Indonesia, which amounted to 719 billion rupees by 2018, according to Nugroho.
But other experts say that even though this network was working, it would have been difficult to avoid the disaster [19659002] "The tsunami was the worst case scenario for any hope of clear warning about tsunamis: the absence of an obvious earthquake to trigger an alert, shallow water, uneven ground and proximity to nearby coasts, "said the seism Hicks.] In the Philippines, Renato Solidum, Undersecretary of Disaster Risk Reduction, said that the Taal volcano eruptions in the country had caused waves of tsunami in Taal Lake
. which had happened in Indonesia showed the need to "re-emphasize awareness and preparation" regarding volcanic activity and tsunami-triggering potential in the Philippines.
The United States has also suffered several tsunamis. by volcanic activities, including Alaska, Hawaii and Washington, according to the National Meteorological Service.
More education
In Indonesia, earlier this year, a double earthquake and tsunami caused the death of over 2,000 people on the island of Sulawesi, and at least 500 people are died when an earthquake destroyed much of the north coast of Lombok Island, a holiday island.
In a country where, according to government data, 62.4% of earthquakes and 1.6% of tsunamis are at the center of attention, attention is now focused on the lack of preparation.
"Given the potential for disasters in the country, it is time to do education Widodo told reporters after the last tsunami.
For Ramdi Tualfredi, a high school teacher who survived the waves of last week, such improvements are urgent.
He added that residents of his village of Cigondong, on the west coast of Java and near Krakatau, had never received training in security or evacuation. "19659002]" I have never been informed of security measures, "he said." The system … has totally failed, "he added.
Watch the video : Indonesian authorities raise the tsunami warning level
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