VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

Indonesia is a country located in the ring of fire where aspects of volcanology and fractures of the earth's plates often occur. Indonesia also has many volcanoes both on the surface of the earth and on the seabed. The effects of volcanic activity often cause disasters. One of the mountains that has made a disaster is the tsunami in Banten and Lampung, which was caused by the activities of Anak Krakatau volcano. The question is to what extent is Indonesia's readiness to further address volcanology activities as happened in several regions in Indonesia?

We still remember the tsunami tragedy in Aceh that occurred on December 26, 2004. This tragedy killed more than 200,000 people. Now, the tsunami happened again in Banten and Lampung, due to the effects of the eruption of Anak Krakatau. Previously, the Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency -BMM did not expect that the eruption effect in the form of a cliff landslide affected the underwater so that it was not well detected by seismographs. Initially, it was thought only the effect of the tide due to the full moon. But what happened was a tsunami that devastated Serang, Pandeglang and South Lampung. Regarding the tsunami danger, President Joko Widodo during a visit to the effected disaster areas said that the advanced early warning equipment of tsunami needs purchasing and installing in areas with potential high waves so that they can prevent many casualties.

Head of the Data Information and Public Relations Center for the National Disaster Mitigation Agency -BPPB, Sutopo Purwo Nugroho said that the regional governments of Banten and Lampung regional apply emergency response period post-tsunami of Sunda Strait. The emergency response period is applied differently between the two provinces. According to Sutopo, for the Pandeglang region, Banten, the emergency response period is valid for 14 days from December 22 to January 4. For the South Lampung region, the emergency response period lasts 7 days from December 23 to 29. However, he emphasized that the Sunda Strait tsunami is not categorized as a national disaster because the regional administration is able to cope with.

Looking at a number of high-wave tragedies, Indonesia must have many sophisticated early warnings to be placed at several disaster-prone points. In addition, earthquake detection equipment or seismographs must also be more sensitive so that such Sunda Strait tsunami can be reported as soon as possible to the public. Based on the latest data as of December 26, the impact of the tsunami that hit the west coast of Banten and South Lampung on Saturday night, December 22, 2018 claimed more than 430 lives; more than 1,400 injured, 154 missing, and 16,082 people are displaced.