West Kalimantan is not completely safe from earthquake shocks
Tectonic earthquakes often occur in West Kalimantan and must be anticipated with more careful development.
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By
EMANUEL EDI SAPUTRA
·2 minutes read
TANGKAPAN GAMBAR DATA BMKG
Area affected by a tectonic earthquake in West Kalimantan, Monday (7/5/2024).
PONTIANAK, KOMPAS - A series of earthquakes that have shaken West Kalimantan prove that the region is not entirely safe from the threat of disasters. This condition makes it necessary for the development of various infrastructure projects to be carried out more carefully.
The latest incident was felt by some residents of Sanggau on Monday (7/5/2024). The 3.2 magnitude earthquake occurred at 4:50 PM local time. There were no reports of damage in the incident.
"We received reports from residents that they felt the earthquake," said a forecaster from the Meteorology, Climatology, and Geophysics Agency (BMKG) at the Class 1 Meteorology Station Supadio, Pontianak, named Ade on Wednesday (8/5/2024).
The earthquake that occurred in Ketapang Regency, West Kalimantan
Tina (29), from Noyan Hamlet, Noyan Village, Noyan District, Sanggau, felt the earthquake tremors. She mentioned that it was the first time she had felt an earthquake shaking her house.
"The vibration was only felt for one or two seconds. Initially, residents thought it was thunder as it happened during cloudy weather. There was no damage caused in that incident," said Tina.
This incident adds to the long list of earthquake events in Kalbar. Some of these include the M 3.1 earthquake in March 2019 in Sintang, the M 4 earthquake in Bengkayang in June 2022, the M 4.9 earthquake in Katapang in July 2022, and the M 4.3 earthquake in Kapuas Hulu in March 2024.
BMKG data states that there are a number of faults in Kalimantan. The faults are Meratus, Mangkabayar, Tarakan, Maratua, Sampurna, and Paternoster.
Executive Director of the Indonesian Forum for the Environment (Walhi) West Kalimantan Hendrikus Adam said that this earthquake must be responded to with mitigation from a number of parties, especially the government. All types of infrastructure development must consider the risks that will occur. He gave the example of news about the construction of nuclear power plants (PLTN) in Bengkayang.
"Perhaps in the future we can consider utilizing other renewable energy potentials that are safer," said Hendrikus.
The discourse on nuclear power plant in West Kalimantan emerged in 2019. Previously, based on research by the team preparing for the construction and commercialization of the nuclear power plant, Bengkayang was considered as a suitable area.
