Jakarta – The Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency (BMKG) has vowed that early warning information for tsunamis and other related disasters will be disseminated within three minutes of an earthquake's detection.
Daryono, head of the BMKG's Earthquake and Tsunami Center, said such warnings would reach all levels of society in Indonesia.
In collaboration with the Communications and Information Ministry, the BMKG has enhanced its disaster early warning system through digital television.
Previously, warnings were primarily distributed via SMS, radio networks, internet platforms and social media.
In addition to earthquake and tsunami alerts, digital television can now broadcast warnings for forest fires, volcanic activity, floods and other hydrometeorological events.
"[It is] fast and can be accessed by the public from all existing information channels free of charge and in real time," Daryono said in Ambon on Wednesday, as quoted by Antara.
The former Agency for the Assessment and Application of Technology (BPPT) also developed four key technologies to improve Indonesia's tsunami and earthquake early warning system, INATEWS.
BPPT and other research and technology agencies have been merged into the National Innovation and Research Agency (BRIN).
INATEWS includes INA-BUOY, a buoy system equipped with satellite tracking for the detection of large ocean waves, INA CBT, an underwater cable-based system for detecting earthquakes and tsunamis, INA-CAT, a coastal acoustic tomography system for real-time tsunami wave detection, and PEKA Tsunami, an AI-driven system for predicting tsunami travel time, location and wave height.
Daryono said each warning was rigorously verified by BMKG's expert team, which monitored events 24/7 from the INATEWS center in Jakarta.
The BMKG's disaster warning system is also integrated with related ministries and institutions, such as the Geological Agency, the National Disaster Mitigation Agency (BNPB) and the National Search and Rescue Agency (Basarnas), both at the national and regional level.
With these improvements, the BMKG hopes to provide the public with faster, more accurate disaster warnings to enable timely evacuations, reducing the risk of casualties.