Baribis Fault Expedition Explores Jakarta Earthquake Potential and Mitigation

The Baribis Fault tracing expedition will uncover history and assess the resilience of earthquakes in Jakarta and West Java.

KOMPAS/FAKHRI FADLURROHMAN

Members of the Indonesian Red Cross Youth and students assist their friend who is in pain during a disaster mitigation simulation at SMPN 104, South Jakarta on Thursday (25/4/2024).

JAKARTA, KOMPAS — Jakarta's vulnerability and resilience to earthquakes will be studied through the Baribis Fault tracing expedition< /a>. This expedition team will uncover history, stories, local knowledge of local residents, and assess disaster resilience from records of earthquakes that occurred.

In addition to Jakarta, the expedition tracing the Baribis Fault will also take place in Bogor, Karawang, Indramayu, Cirebon, Majalengka, Sumedang, Subang, Purwakarta, and Bekasi. The journey involves local residents, geological experts, anthropologists, sociologists, archaeologists, architects, disaster management practitioners, and travel documentation or field finding teams. This collaboration of various parties is intended to obtain various maximal data and results.

The introduction of the Baribis Fault exploration team will take place on Friday (April 26, 2024) at 2:00 PM WIB at the Jakarta Regional Disaster Management Agency (BPBD) by BPBD, BRIN, USAID KUAT (Urban Community for Resilience Action), and SKALA (Synergy and Collaboration for Basic Services Acceleration) of the Australia-Indonesia Partnership Program.

"To anticipate earthquake disasters in this area, a fundamental seismotectonic study based on the origin of earthquake occurrences, determining earthquake potentials, and the resulting hazards is necessary," said the Head of the Data and Information Processing Unit of the Jakarta Provincial Disaster Management Agency, Michael Sitanggang.

Also read: Disaster Mitigation Simulation in Schools

AHMAD ARIF

The Kendeng-Baribis fault line passes through cities in northern Java.

Earthquake is one of the nine disaster threats that can occur at any time in Jakarta. Other threats are floods, building and settlement fires, social conflicts, epidemics and disease outbreaks, technological failures, extreme weather, extreme waves and abrasion, and soil movements.

An earthquake can occur in Jakarta due to the geographic location of the Indo-Australian and Eurasian plates, with segments in East Java, Central-West Java, and the Sunda Strait, with the potential for earthquakes up to magnitude 8.7.

On the other hand, Jakarta is also close to various fault lines, namely Baribis, Lembang, Cimandiri, Gunung Salak, and Gunung Gede Pangrango, which are currently being studied for their earthquake potential.

To prepare for earthquake disasters in this area, there is a need for a fundamental seismotectonic study based on the origin of earthquake occurrences, determining earthquake potential, and the resulting hazards.

BPBD DKI Jakarta recorded five earthquakes that caused damage and casualties in Jakarta. On January 5, 1699, an earthquake caused severe damage in various parts of the city. Years later, an earthquake on January 22, 1780, resulted in many buildings collapsing, including the Mohr Observatory.

Meanwhile, three other earthquakes occurred on October 10, 1834, February 23, 1903, and March 17, 1997. The last earthquake caused cracks in building structures in the Sudirman-Thamrin area.

Also read: Jakarta-Bogor, Prepare for Earthquakes

KOMPAS

Illustration. Baribis Fault Becomes Earthquake Threat in Jakarta.

The tremors of earthquakes from outside have also been felt several times in Jakarta. One of them was a magnitude 5.6 earthquake in Cianjur Regency, West Java, on Monday (21/11/2022) afternoon, felt strongly for 3-5 seconds in Jakarta which is 78 km southeast of the epicenter. Recently, a magnitude 6.9 earthquake on Friday (14/4/2023) afternoon, centered in the Java Sea, around 65 kilometers northwest of Tuban City, East Java, was felt as far as Jakarta and its surroundings.

The Chairman of the Subgroup for Community Empowerment and Institution, Basuki Rakhmat, said that they continue to socialize and simulate disaster management to the general public or in schools, hospitals, markets, places of worship, and building managers. At least 50 activities are conducted every year in the community, 20 schools, 20 buildings, and 20 village offices, as well as 30-40 other locations based on residents' requests.

Baribis Fault

Baribis Fault is one of the major fault zones in the western part of Java that follows the pattern of the island. This fault stretches from east to west with a route divided into several segments, such as Cipanas River, Ciremai, southern Jakarta, and the eastern side of Bekasi-Purwakarta.

The big threat from the Baribis Fault was published in research by Professor of the Faculty of Mining and Petroleum Engineering, Bandung Institute of Technology (ITB) Sri Widiyantoro and team at Scientific Reports-Nature on Thursday (16/6/2022). The research shows that the Baribis Fault, a fault line south of Jakarta, is active and poses a major threat (Kompas, 22 June 2022).

A study by Widiyantoro and his team also shows that the western part of the active Baribis Fault segment is in a locked condition. This makes the area very vulnerable to future large earthquakes from the Baribis Fault when the accumulated strain energy is finally released.

Also read: Variety of Reactions, Minimal Disaster Mitigation in the Capital City

The findings of Widiyantoro and his team add to a series of previous data trying to track the activity of fault zones on densely populated land. Major cities in northwest Java, such as Jakarta, Tangerang, Bekasi, Karawang, and Purwakarta, are known to be supported by complex geological terrain influenced by the convergence of the Australian Plate and Eurasian Plate along the Java Trench.

In addition to the threat of earthquakes from this subduction zone, these cities are also vulnerable to earthquakes caused by active crustal faults that are crossing areas with high population density. These faults include the Cimandiri Fault, Baribis Fault, Lembang Fault, Garut Fault, and Cipamingkis Fault.