Earthquake of 8 Magnitude Can Possibly Devastates Jakarta

TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Head of the Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency (BMKG) Dwikorita Karnawati said that Jakarta is very susceptible to sustain heavy damages if the area gets hit by a direct earthquake.

Dwikorita mentioned that during a discussion held by meteorology and geophysics alumni entitled ‘Is Jakarta ready to face a magnitude 8.7 megathrust earthquake?’

“Jakarta’s soil is soft and is surrounded by an active fault line. The effects will be strongly felt wherever the epicenter is,” said Dwikorita on Wednesday, February 28.

She said that it can be seen when the magnitude 6.1 earthquake in January that hit Lebak was able to be felt in Jakarta.

Read: 5.0 Quake Hits Lebak, No Threat of Tsunami

She explained that the Lebak earthquake was just 1:10th of the predicted magnitude 8.7 earthquake, which is said to be as strong as the devastating earthquake that hit Aceh back in 2004. Even if the location between Jakarta and the earthquake epicenter is pretty far, it would get amplified and become stronger because of Jakarta’s soft underground soil.

Almost every area in Jakarta can potentially be affected by an earthquake that predicted to come from a megathrust subduction area and an active fault.

She explained that Jakarta had gone through four devastating earthquakes in 1699, 1757, 1880, and 1834. “The perception which suggests that Jakarta is safe from earthquakes is a misconception because the Lebak magnitude 6.1 earthquake in January 2018 reached the intensity level of V-VI MMI in Jakarta,” said Dwikorita.

Therefore, BMKG reminds the residents of Jakarta to be more aware of the dangers of earthquakes and start educating people about earthquake disaster mitigations.

ANTARA