Although it is difficult to predict, it was confirmed that earthquake will frequently happen, especially in West Sumatera, Bengkulu, and the surrounding. Related to this fact, the people in those areas were asked to be aware of potential earthquakes.
“The Sumateran fault is still active, one day it will move so that Sumatera, especially Bengkulu and Padang, Siberut Island to Nias, need to be on alert, †UGM seismologist, Dr. Ir. Subagyo Hamumijoyo, told the press at UGM, Tuesday (1/10), in response to the 7.6 RS earthquake in West Sumatera yesterday.
Subagyo mentioned that the earthquake had happened because of the subduction of the fault under Sumatera Island, particularly in the off-shore ocean. It was the subduction also that had caused the increasing earthquakes in Sumatera since 2003. “The subduction in Sumatera was bigger that it caused the fault to move whilst in Java the curve of the fault is sharper and older so that it produces less earthquakes,†he explained.
The teaching staff from the Geology Department said that the earthquake had been caused by the release of energy due to the tectonic plate movement, as happened to a rubber band that is pulled and then is suddenly released. It is rather difficult to predict where earthquakes will occur next. Seismology study, however, showed that both areas which often experience earthquake and those that seldom have earthquakes can equally be the locations.
Subagyo saw that many people in Padang still live in old buildings which are more flexible to hold earthquakes than the new concrete ones. Meanwhile, the Head of Center for Natural Disaster Studies, Dr. Sunarto, said that disaster mitigation training in Sumatera should be done continuously. Preparation for earthquake mitigation is different from that for floods and landslides.