France sets up quake center<\/p>\n
Syofiardi Bachyul Jb, The Jakarta Post, Padang<\/p>\n
The French government plans to provide further aid in the form of
\nequipment and technical expertise to establish an earthquake and
\ntsunami crisis center in Padang, West Sumatra, expected to be
\nlaunched in May.<\/p>\n
Coordinator of the West Sumatra Natural Disaster Mitigation
\nAgency's coordinating unit (Satkorlak), Armen Rauf, said in
\nPadang on Friday that the crisis center's task was to anticipate
\nthe possible risks that might occur if an earthquake and tsunami
\nwere to hit the west coast of the province originating from the
\nsubduction zone in the Mentawai Islands.<\/p>\n
\"The crisis center that will be operated by the West Sumatra
\nSatkorlak, will later become the center for information,
\nobservation and control,\" said Armen.<\/p>\n
Armen explained that the French government would not provide
\nmoney directly, but technical facilities in the form of
\ncommunications equipment, such as an Early Warning System,
\ndatabase resources, a call center, as well as the training of
\npersonnel and operational funds for two years.<\/p>\n
He could not yet determine the amount of assistance but said,
\n\"It could reach billions of rupiah. We only need to provide the
\nplace for the crisis center. They will provide the equipment and
\noperational funds for the first two years,\" said Armen.<\/p>\n
Talks between the French and Indonesian governments have
\nentered the final phase. There will be a meeting soon between the
\nFrench ambassador and the West Sumatra governor to completely
\nfinalize it.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, a staffer at the Padangpanjang Meteorology and
\nGeophysical Agency (BMG), Bayu Pranata, who is also a member of
\nthe Satkorlak said that the crisis center would prioritize
\nearthquake and tsunami warnings, and would be aimed at minimizing
\nthe number of victims in the event of another large tsunami.<\/p>\n
\"The foremost thing to be set up is the call center and a
\nhotline connecting the BMG and the Satkorlak,\" he said.<\/p>\n
The call center go into action in case of a disaster, said
\nArmen, \"it will be used for informing the public of the dangers
\nof an earthquake or tsunami along the western coast of Sumatra\".<\/p>\n
The subduction zone -- the section where an oceanic plate
\ndescends below a continental plate -- along the west coast of
\nSumatra, has the potential to trigger another huge quake and
\ntsunami.<\/p>\n
A team consisting of experts from the National Institute of
\nSciences (LIPI) and the California Technical Institute (Caltech)
\nhas recorded that six segments in the subduction zone along
\nSumatra have the possibility to create huge quakes. They are in
\nthe Aceh-Andaman region, Simeuleu, Nias, the Batu Islands,
\nSiberut, Sipora-Pagai and Bengkulu.<\/p>\n
Only two of the six segments, Siberut and Sipora-Pagai, have
\nnot had substantial activity in recent years, however, that area
\nexperienced a series of huge quakes over 150 years ago, according
\nto scientists.<\/p>\n
Based on the report from the team, a quake once occurred in
\nthe Siberut segment in the 17th century and the Sipora-Pagai
\nin 1797 and 1833 with a magnitude of an estimated 9.0 on a modern
\nday Richter.<\/p>\n
Padang, a densely populated city on the coast of western
\nSumatra, seems particularly vulnerable to a devastating quake or
\ntsunami.<\/p>",
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