MPR Deputy Speaker Calls for Greater Public Awareness on Disaster Mitigation

Deputy Speaker of the People’s Consultative Assembly (MPR) Lestari Moerdijat has stressed the importance of building public awareness regarding disaster mitigation education. She stated that this is part of efforts to increase preparedness in facing disaster threats in the country.

She made the remarks during her speech at an online discussion themed ‘Increased Seismic Activity in the Pacific: Implications and Anticipatory Steps for Indonesia’, held by the Denpasar 12 Discussion Forum on Wednesday (15/7/2026). The discussion, moderated by the Expert Team of the MPR Deputy Speaker Tantri Moerdopo, featured Analysist for Disaster at the Directorate of Logistics and Equipment Optimisation, Deputy for Logistics and Equipment of the National Disaster Management Agency (BNPB) Maryanto; Director of Earthquakes and Tsunamis at the Meteorology, Climatology, and Geophysics Agency (BMKG) Wijayanto; and Senior Tsunami Researcher at the National Research and Innovation Agency (BRIN) Widjo Kongko.

‘Anticipatory measures against disaster threats in the country must be carried out comprehensively, ranging from infrastructure strengthening, technology optimisation, to community preparedness,’ Lestari Moerdijat said on Wednesday.

According to Lestari, entering mid-2026, seismic activity along the Pacific Ring of Fire has shown very high dynamics, marked by a series of large-magnitude earthquakes that have struck several regions and threatened public safety. She argued that the government must also take anticipatory steps by preparing infrastructure and improving public understanding of how to deal with the impacts of disasters through various efforts. Furthermore, she encouraged the strengthening of cross-sector collaboration to build community preparedness.

‘I hope that the ongoing seismic activity can be anticipated through an adaptive community resilience mechanism,’ she explained.

Meanwhile, Wijayanto revealed that throughout 2025, there were 43,439 earthquake events recorded in the country. These earthquake events cannot be predicted, so community preparedness is essential in facing such threats. According to Wijayanto, earthquake sources in the country originate from two events: plate subduction (megathrust) and active fault lines.

‘There are 14 megathrust segments in Indonesia that have the potential to cause earthquakes with a magnitude above 8.5,’ he said. Therefore, Wijayanto stated that anticipatory measures must be consistently implemented by utilising disaster-prone maps, strengthening disaster information systems, and building disaster mitigation strategies that are easy for the public to understand. ‘The impacts of an earthquake can include landslides, liquefaction, tsunamis, rockfalls, and other secondary effects that can cause casualties,’ he explained.

Meanwhile, Widjo Kongko revealed that 60 per cent of tsunamis are triggered by tectonic earthquakes and 22 per cent by volcanic earthquakes. According to Widjo Kongko, over a period of 300 years (1700-2022), there were 13 major tsunami events in the Pacific Ocean region that impacted Indonesia. Indonesia has been utilising the Indonesia Tsunami Early Warning System (Ina TEWS) since 11 November 2008; the tool can issue a tsunami warning in less than three minutes so that the public can immediately evacuate.

The challenge currently faced by Indonesia is that 60 per cent of its cities are located in tsunami-prone coastal areas. Widjo Kongko emphasised that public understanding of hazards and risks, as well as a robust early warning system, must be a serious concern for all parties as part of efforts to build community preparedness for disasters. ‘Additionally, important areas such as coal-fired power plants, industrial zones, and tourism sites are also located on the coast,’ Widjo concluded.