Early Tsunami Warning Prevents Many Fatalities
The Meteorology, Climatology, and Geophysics Agency (BMKG) has reminded the public of the importance of awareness in responding swiftly to tsunami early warnings in order to minimise the risk of casualties.
“The best early warning system is the public’s awareness to respond to tsunami potential,” said the Head of BMKG’s Centre for Standardisation of Meteorology, Climatology, and Geophysics Instrumentation, Rahmat Triyono, at a press conference in Jakarta on Tuesday (15/9).
Specifically, Rahmat stated that communities in coastal areas need to be aware of the need to evacuate immediately when they feel a strong earthquake tremor or receive a warning about potential tsunami.
He further explained that in the earthquake that struck Flores, East Nusa Tenggara (NTT), with a magnitude of 7.7 on 15 August 2026, BMKG issued a tsunami early warning only 2 minutes 16 seconds after the main shock struck.
At the time, the earthquake’s epicentre was located about 30 kilometres northeast of Nagekeo, NTT, at a depth of 15 kilometres. Rahmat said the shallow earthquake was triggered by activity of the Flores Back-Arc Thrust with a thrust fault mechanism.
Subsequently, the results of BMKG’s sea-level observations through 16 tsunami gauge stations in NTT, West Nusa Tenggara (NTB), and South Sulawesi recorded tsunami wave rises at a number of points. Tsunami waves were recorded as high as 1.60 metres in Pota, 1.61 metres in Reo, 0.54 metres in Bulukumba, 0.40 metres in Selayar, and 0.56 metres in Sape.
In addition, BMKG’s field survey also found traces of a tsunami along the northern coast of Flores, with the highest run-up reaching 2.68 metres in Selama Village. The tsunami damaged 23 houses, including two houses swept away by the tsunami in Selama Village.
Nevertheless, there were no fatalities from the tsunami because the community immediately evacuated after receiving the tsunami early warning. In line with this, BMKG urged communities in tsunami-prone areas not only to rely on early warning information, but also to understand evacuation routes and carry out independent evacuation when conditions require it.