TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - There are at least 4,300 over 3-magnitude earthquakes happened in Indonesia in the year 2015, including seven destructive quakes, the Meteorology, Climatology, and Geophysics Agency (BMKG) said on Sunday, December 27.
Earthquake expert from the Bandung Institute of Technology (ITB) Irwan Meilano said on average tremors are felt everyday.
“The irony is almost every destructive quake happened in a source not previously defined in the 2012 Indonesia National Standard earthquake map,” said Irwan on Sunday.
Irwan with a team of other ITB lecturers and other government institution was involved in making the earthquake map. The team is currently updating the map.
Irwan said there needs to be an effective strategy to speed up definitions of new quake source. Basic research need to be a priority because the government is in the middle of speeding up development.
“Development of fast trains, mass rapid transports, nuclear reactors, long stretch bridges, dams - all these efforts need to be coupled with good knowledge of disaster potential,” he said.
“We still can’t answer simple questions, such as are there any earthquake sources near Jakarta,” said Irwan.
ANWAR SISWADI