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Potential megathrust earthquake in Indonesia raises fear

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Quake ruined building. Photo: Bernama

JAKARTA: There are fears that last Friday’s 6.9-magnitude earthquake in Banten, which also jolted the Indonesian capital of Jakarta some 120 kilometres away, would trigger a megathrust earthquake and impact the country.

Indonesian authorities can no longer hide or dismiss the possibility of a megathrust earthquake, with a magnitude that could be higher than 9.0 on the Richter Scale.

The last megathrust earthquake between 9.1 to 9.3 on the Richter Scale, occurred in 2004, causing a tsunami that devastated Acheh, killing hundreds of thousands in the nation’s island of Sumatra.

Earthquake and Tsunami expert at Indonesia’s Agency for Assessment and Application of Technology, Widjo Kongko, said the megathrust quake could be triggered by the active movement and shifts of the Indo-Australian and Eurasian plates.

Megathrust earthquakes occur when the edges of two tectonic plates converge, forcing one underneath the other in a process called subduction.

Widjo was quoted by local media as saying that if a megathrust earthquake was above a magnitude of 9.0 in the Sunda Straits (between the islands of Java and Sumatra), it could trigger a tsunami that could go up to as high as 57 metres.

“The 57-metre high tsunami was likely to occur at the Pandeglang Regency in Banten and has the potential to reach North Jakarta…but, this is only our initial study,” he said.

Quake ruined building. Photo: Bernama

Head of the National Centre for Information and Public Relations at the National Disaster Management Agency, Agus Wibowo, said that Indonesian President Joko Widodo had directed the agency to develop coastal forests or mangroves in areas that were most likely to be affected by the megathrust earthquake.

President Jokowi in July had also directed the Indonesian Meteorological, Climatological and Geophysical Agency to provide complete and quick information on earthquakes to the public.

The Indonesian President was quoted by the country’s national news agency Antara as saying that the transmission of any information related to the quake was not intended to worry or upset the community but to provide them with information and knowledge of the (megathrust earthquake) threats. – Bernama

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