TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - The Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) Deputy Chairman Saut Situmorang highlighted the malfunction of the tsunami early warning system in Indonesia.
“For us, it is interesting, why did the tsunami early warning system not working?” Saut said in his office in Jakarta, Monday, October 1.
Saut said the early warning system in the form of sharing short message also did not work when the earthquake accompanied by a tsunami hit Central Sulawesi on last Friday. He said that further study is needed to prove whether the system did not work because it was corrupted.
Read also: House to Summon BMKG Chief over Tsunami Early Warning System
Head of the National Disaster Management Agency (BNPB) Information and Public Relations Center Sutopo Purwo Nugroho said Indonesia had no tsunami or buoy detection devices since 2012.
The buoy is a float sensor that becomes a tsunami early warning system. It can measure sea level and provide information to relevant institutions.
Sutopo suspected that the buoy was no longer functioning because of the lack of funding for disaster management. “In the past, the budget was close to Rp2 trillion, now it is only Rp700 billion,” he said.
M ROSSENO AJI
