February 18, 2025 | 04:52 pm
TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - The Meteorology, Climatology, and Geophysics Agency (BMKG) has expressed concern over the theft of components from its earthquake-tsunami monitoring equipment in Sindereng Rappang Regency, South Sulawesi Province.
"This is the fourth time that BMKG equipment has been stolen and destroyed at the same location at SPSI's Sidrap Indonesia station," said the Director of Earthquakes and Tsunamis at BMKG, Daryono, in Jakarta on Saturday, February 15, 2025, as quoted from Antara.
He explained that the latest incident occurred in Buae Village, Watang Pulu District, Sidrap Regency, South Sulawesi, on February 12, 2025, at around 23:00 WITA (Central Indonesian Time).
The thieves took six accumulator batteries which power the seismograph sensors and two solar panels installed on the shelter building of the SPSI Sidrap-Indonesia station.
Daryono revealed that the thieves forcibly dismantled the shelter building, causing damage, and took six batteries, the main power source for the existing earthquake monitoring station. As a result, the station is currently out of operation. The agency was forced to remove all remaining equipment, including sensors, digitizers, and communication equipment to avoid further losses.
According to BMKG data, this incident is not the first. Since 2015, there have been at least 10 cases of theft and destruction of earthquake monitoring and early warning equipment managed by the agency. These incidents have occurred in various locations, including Cisompet, Garut in West Java (twice in 2015), Muara Dua, South Sumatra (2017), Manna, Bengkulu (2018), Indragiri Hilir, Riau (2022), North Kluet, South Aceh (2022), Sorong, West Papua (2022), Jambi (2022), Sausapor, Tambrauw, West Papua (2022), and Pulau Banyak, Aceh Singkil (2024).
Daryono disclosed that currently, it is not easy to immediately replace the stolen or damaged equipment because the equipment uses advanced technology with very high costs. Therefore, BMKG urges local governments to actively participate in safeguarding disaster detection equipment installed in strategic locations for the safety and well-being of the community.
"We demand the public not to engage in vandalism, destruction, or theft of BMKG equipment. If they are not yet able to actively participate in disaster mitigation and risk reduction, they should at the very least not damage the equipment designed to protect the safety of many people," he said.
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