"The 2004 Aceh tsunami was a lesson for countries in the Indian Ocean region that tsunamis that occur suddenly have a fatal impact on countries in the region and cause many casualties," said Dwikorita in a statement released in Jakarta on Sunday (17/12/2023) as reported by Antara.
Dwikorita, who also serves as Chair of ICG/IOTWMS, said that the Indian Ocean is one of the regions in the world that is very vulnerable to tsunamis. She explained that the Indian Ocean consists of two subduction zones which can cause tsunamis throughout the ocean.
Therefore, she said, the threat must be anticipated by building the capacity of all countries so they can respond to a potential tsunami in a timely manner. It is primarily in increasing public understanding and awareness, as well as increasing the accessibility of information to the public.
One way to increase community preparedness for the threat of tsunamis is by forming a Tsunami Ready Community. Tsunami Ready Community is a program to increase community capacity in facing the tsunami threat based on 12 indicators of potential hazard assessment, preparedness, and response aspects that have been determined by the UNESCO Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission (UNESCO-IOC).
"With strong cooperation and collaboration, it is hoped that all countries will be able to provide tsunami warning services to the public, including those caused by factors other than tectonic earthquakes and also tsunami warnings for non-subduction earthquake areas," she added.
Furthermore, Dwikorita said that in 2023, the Indian Ocean Wave Exercise 2023 (IOWave23) will be implemented with four scenarios, on October 8, 11, 18 and 25, 2023, respectively. For the first time, it was decided to simulate a non-seismic tsunami generated by a volcanic eruption during the exercise.
It was revealed that at least seven countries carried out evacuation drills with about 45,000 people joined. This drill involves the men, women, children, the elderly, and people with disabilities.
For BMKG itself, she said, it is very important to implement IOWave to evaluate the tsunami early warning chain and the sustainability of standards, as well as the involvement of the parties. In addition, this activity can evaluate communication links in each area regarding 24/7 operators, including the completeness of communication tools and the readiness of stakeholders to receive and understand tsunami early warnings.
"This exercise ensures that the government, community and all related parties are more skilled, agile, not awkward and don't panic when a tsunami occurs, and know what to do if an earthquake and tsunami occurs at any time. "Remember, until now there is no technology that can predict when earthquakes and tsunamis will occur," she said. (Antara)
