Tsunami warning in North Gorontalo ends, residents return to homes
The Gorontalo Provincial Disaster Management Agency (BPBD) has announced that the tsunami warning in North Gorontalo Regency has ended after relevant authorities revoked the alert status following a 7.7 magnitude earthquake in the Sulawesi Sea.
Moh Tahir Laendeng, a disaster analyst at the Gorontalo Provincial BPBD, stated on Monday that residents who had previously undertaken self-evacuation to higher ground are now being directed to return to their homes. Prior to the lifting of the warning, the BPBD and related agencies conducted intensive monitoring across several coastal areas in North Gorontality following reports of potential tsunami risks.
Tahir noted that field monitoring revealed sea-level rises in several locations, including the Kwandang and Ponelo Kepulauan districts. However, these rises were not significant and did not impact residential areas. “There were indeed several points where water levels began to rise, but it was not significant. The increase was manageable and had not reached settlements,” he said.
According to the analyst, the rise in water levels was primarily observed in estuaries and rivers connected to the sea. This occurred after the sea initially receded before rising again. “The sea level, which initially receded, then rose again, but the increase was not significant, at most around 0.27 metres,” he added.
Despite the lack of significant impact, the BPBD had previously urged residents in coastal, riverside, and beach areas to evacuate temporarily to safer locations while awaiting official updates. Residents followed the instructions of officials by conducting self-evacuations to higher ground in North Gorontalo.
Until the tsunami warning was officially lifted, the BPBD received no reports of fatalities or damage resulting from the sea-level changes. Personnel from the BPBD, Basarnas (National Search and Rescue Agency), the TNI (Indonesian National Armed Forces), the Polri (Indonesian National Police), and local government authorities, who had been monitoring and securing coastal points since the morning, remained on alert until the official end of the warning.
The Gorontalo Provincial BPBD expressed appreciation for the rapid response of the community in following official instructions during the evacuation process, ensuring the situation remained under control. Although conditions have been declared safe, the public is still advised to remain vigilant regarding potential natural disasters and to continue following official information from the government and relevant disaster management agencies.