The danger of
tsunami is the most frightening specter for coastal communities. Not without reason, the danger of a tsunami hit
Indonesia, specifically in Aceh province on December 26 2004. These deep wounds still haunt the victims' families when
they commemorate the tsunami disaster every year.
Tsunami disasters and earthquake disasters are always paired, without an earthquake preceding it, there is no danger of a tsunami. Therefore, experts are trying hard to create tools that are able to detect these two things.
However, now with the large number of tsunami disasters that have hit coastal countries throughout the world, experts are not standing still trying to carry out research and testing tools that can detect the danger of tsunami waves.
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scientific explanation of enviromentally friendly technology
Indonesia is prone to earthquakes and tsunami
Based on ESDM sources from the geological agency in its article entitled InaTews Concept and implementation (2010), it is known that Indonesia's geographic position is very prone to earthquake and tsunami disasters.
The reason is that Indonesia's geographic condition is right on top of the world's three main tectonic plates, namely the Pacific Ocean plate to the east, the Indian Ocean - Australian plate to the south, and the Eurasian plate.
An earthquakes disaster can occur if one of the three plates moves, because for reasons such as magma activity in the bowels of the earth, it automatically causes shaking on the earth's surface.
According to the tectonic theory reported on the education.nationalgeographic.org website, it is briefly explained that this large landform was formed due to underground movements of the earth. Obviously, underground movements will always exist so that the potential for an earthquake can occur at any time, and that means the danger of a tsunami. will often be lurking at any time.
Still in the same article, it was recorded that in the last almost 20 years from 1991 to 2009, Indonesia has experienced 30 destructive earthquakes and 14 tsunami disasters. From this data it can be estimated that Indonesia is prone to tsunami danger once a year.
It is reasonable for the Indonesian government to be aggressive in developing earthquakes and tsunami disasters detection equipment.
Earthquakes and tsunami disaster detection equipment
The tsunami disaster actually doesn't need to happen if there is a tool that is able to detect the threat of a tsunami from the start. However, perhaps because tsunami disasters rarely occur, officers rarely activate the detection equipment.
The following are several types of equipment for detecting earthquakes and tsunami disasters that are popularly used.
1. InaTews (Indonesian tsunami early warning system)
This equipment was made by the Indonesian government and was first launched in 2008. This is a national government collaboration and support from several donor countries in the world.
Ina-tews is designed to have two monitoring systems. namely for land areas and sea areas. The two monitoring areas will be installed with different detection tools and connected to the BMKG data processing application.
2. GUARDIAN (GNSS Upper Atmospheric Real Time Disaster and Alert Network)
This tsunami detection equipment was made by Leo Martire, a United States NASA scientist. Reporting from the NASA-Gov website, it is explained that this tool uses GPS signals and uses the power of satellites circulating in space.
How it works is by detecting the roar of an active ring of fire in the Pacific Ocean. According to historical data from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration between 1900 and 2015, 78 percent of tsunami events began in the Pacific Ocean region.
However, unfortunately, this tool is still a trial and needs to be continuously refined by experts.
Comparing how the two tsunami detection tools work, it can be seen that GUARDIAN's sophistication is above average compared to the Indonesian-made Ina-tews. Monitoring earthquakes and tsunami dangers is enough via GPS signals without the hassle of installing the equipment on land or deep in the sea.
However, it must be admitted that Indonesian scientists have brains that are smart enough to be able to design earthquakes and tsunami disasters detection tools that are almost equivalent to those made by American scientists.
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