Indonesia, ranked among the top 35 countries for natural disaster risk, is actively preparing for potential megathrust earthquakes that could trigger devastating tsunamis.
Dwikorita Karnawati, head of Indonesia's Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency (BMKG), stated that megathrust earthquakes are likely to occur in two critical zones: the Sunda Strait and around the Mentawai-Siberut islands. These regions, located in the Indian Ocean, have been identified as earthquake-prone areas with latent potential for seismic activity over hundreds of years.
\"It is just a matter of time. Although we still cannot predict when the natural disaster will occur, we need to continue to talk about this issue so that people can be prepared for megathrusts,\" Karnawati told reporters.
A megathrust earthquake is a very large earthquake that occurs in a subduction zone, typically resulting in a magnitude of 8 to 9.
The BMKG has mapped 13 zones in Indonesia with the highest potential for megathrust earthquakes. Four of Indonesia's five major islands—Java, Sumatra, Sulawesi, and Papua—are in the red zones, each with a minimum potential of magnitude 7.8 on the Richter scale.
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Indonesia takes precautionary measures for potential megathrust quakes
cgtn.com
