Volcano warning system

Volcano warning system

The way people look at the apocalyptic Dec. 26 tsunami in Aceh
has changed somewhat. With a magnitude of 9 on the Richter scale,
the catastrophe looks like the apex of a string of major
earthquakes in this archipelago, both before and after Boxing
day.

We cannot get away completely from the fury of nature. What we
can do is to limit, in so far as possible, the number of victims
and the people's suffering.

This seemingly endless string of earthquakes calls for extra
efforts from the volcanology experts. While a tsunami early-
warning system is being put in place to prevent any recurrence of
the Aceh tsunami, the efforts to reduce the number of victims of
volcanic eruptions have a longer history.

In the easternmost part of Indonesia, a 6.4-magnitude tremor
jolted the Papuan town of Nabire in November killing at least 32
people and injuring hundreds of others. In the same month, an
earthquake of similar magnitude shook the East Nusa Tenggara
island of Alor, also in the eastern part of the archipelago,
killing at least 36 people and injuring thousands of others.

After the colossal Aceh tsunami that killed more than 129,000
people, an 8.7-magnitude tremor struck nearby Nias island on
March 29, killing more than 1,000 people.

Last week, 3.2- and 4.0-magnitude quakes jolted the Southeast
Sulawesi town of Kendari causing panic across the town. After
recurrent tremors across many cities in Sumatra, the 2,500-meter
Mount Talang, located near the city of Padang, erupted on
Tuesday. Increased activity has since been detected in several
other volcanoes. The famous Mount Krakatau in the Sunda Strait,
sandwiched between Java and Sumatra, and Mount Tangkuban Perahu
near Bandung in West Java, are all on level 3 alert. This is only
one level below the highest alert.

Famous for their superstitious ways, Indonesians are asking
what all this means, and when will it end?

The number of victims is often linked to the magnitude of a
disaster. The bigger the number of victims, the greater the
magnitude of the disaster, in the popular imagination. The
physical and psychological sufferings of survivors tend to pale
in comparison to the total number of victims.

In reality, the total number of victims is only one element to
be used in assessing the misery inflicted upon people. Survivors
experience horrible suffering after disasters. The people of
Nias, for example, were terrified that the earthquake that struck
their island would be followed by a tsunami, as was the case in
Aceh. It was fortunate that the feared tidal wave did not
materialize but the people have been living in intense fear ever
since.

The ceaseless aftershocks experienced by the Acehnese even
today continuously refresh the memory of the catastrophe in their
minds. The psychological trauma suffered by the survivors will
take years to heal.

In nearby Simeulue island, nearly the entire population of
78,000 people left the island for fear of a tsunami, just days
after an earthquake struck Nias island. Tales of suffering in the
places where the survivors end up, like Batam island or Medan,
are indicative of their plight.

Ever since the colonial period, governments have been aware of
the dangers posed by the country's more than 100 volcanoes.

This is the reason why Mount Merapi on Java island, near the
city of Yogyakarta, is a world-renowned center for the study of
volcanoes. The experts working there undoubtedly have an
important role to play in warning the potential victims of the
dangers they face.

But they need to make their warnings louder. The latest
eruption of Mount Talang has shown that, to say the least, their
voices have been rather subdued. Stronger warnings from the
volcanology experts are badly needed, particularly at the present
time, or otherwise the people will fall prey to all kinds of
rumors, and irresponsible rumormongers.