Tsunami Warning Sirens for Sumatra

By Barrie | December 18th, 2006 | No Comments

On the island of Bali they already have them constructed, and now, they are being constructed in West Sumatra. I am talking about an early warning system for pending tsunamis.

In the JP today there was an excellent article about these new systems, and, it’s good to see them being installed after the devastating December 26th last year. Indonesia being such a volatile archipelago sitting on the Pacific Ring of Fire, it makes common sense that these types of systems be constructed.

Let’s hope they are constructed on all the islands in the archipelago, or at least the larger islands.

Early warning sirens ‘nearing completion’
Syofiardi Bachyul Jb, The Jakarta Post, Padang

West Sumatra is expected to complete the installation of six sirens under the local Meteorology and Geophysical Agency (BMG) by the end of the year as part of the tsunami early warning system.

Such devices are also being constructed simultaneously in Bali and Aceh Nanggroe Darussalam.

“The sirens which have been installed on top of 15-meter towers will start functioning by Dec. 26. However, I don’t know whether or not they will be used in a simulation to commemorate the Dec. 26 Aceh tsunami disaster which will be focused on Bali,” said agency head Sumarso in Padang.

The BMG has installed sirens in six coastal cities and regencies facing the Indian Ocean — Padang, Pesisir Selatan, Pariaman city, Cimpago village in Padang Pariaman, Tiku in Agam regency and Pasaman Barat.

The sirens will be connected to seismograph equipment in Padang Panjang and undersea pressure recorders installed off the west coast of the province. Data from the devices will then be transmitted to the satellite, which will then relay data to BMG’s data processing centers.

“The BMG will activate the sirens within five minutes in the event of an earthquake exceeding 6.3 on the Richter scale, to alert coastal residents to enable them to immediately flee to safety,” said Sumarso.

The sirens can be heard at a distance of up to three kilometers. Sumarso, however, expressed doubts over their effectiveness because they still would not be able to alert the entire coastline of West Sumatra.

He cited as an example the siren in Padang city which is located at the sports hall on Jl. Agussalim, a kilometer from the coast, which may not reach Pasar Raya Padang or Pasar Raya Lubuk Buaya, particularly Telukbayur Port and Minangkabau Airport in Ketaping which are located at quite a distance from the beach.

With a coastline spanning 84 km, Padang city should have 28 such sirens of a similar capacity.

“We acknowledge their limitation since this is only a pilot project by the BMG. We hope the local administration will assist us by building other sirens along the coast,” he said.

Sumarno said the local administrations must play a key role by informing the public about the function of the sirens and conducting tsunami and earthquake drills.

The coast of West Sumatra is at risk of a tsunami triggered by a collision between the Indian and Eurasian tectonic plates located beneath the Mentawai Islands. Experts estimate that a tsunami could occur anytime within the next 30 years.

The local edition of the National Geographic magazine mentioned that Padang city, with a population of 800,000, is the place at highest risk of experiencing a tsunami.