The Meteorology, Climatology, and Geophysics Agency (BMKG) has issued a warning for the Banten administration to stay alert, as a strong earthquake and tsunami could likely rattle the province’s industrial city of Cilegon.

The city’s level of vulnerability to the impacts of the strong earthquake and tsunami is high, as it is located on the edge of the Sunda Strait at the western end of Java Island, the agency’s head, Dwikorita Karnawati, remarked.

Apart from its strategic location, Cilegon also faces potential catastrophic risks if an earthquake and tsunami were to strike at any time, Karnawati noted in a statement that ANTARA quoted here, Wednesday.

As an industrial city, several strategic vital objects — the Merak Port, Krakatau Steel industrial estate, Suralaya coal-fired power plant, and Krakatau Tirta Industri’s water treatment plant — are found there.

However, its area is threatened by at least four potential earthquake and tsunami sources: the megathrust zone, fault zone of Mentawai, Semangko, and Ujung Kulon, Sunda Strait Graben zone, and Mount Anak Krakatau.

Referring to BMKG’s modeling, if a strong earthquake occurred in the Sunda Strait Megathrust Zone, then its magnitude could likely reach 8.7, Karnawati stated.

If this megathrust earthquake occurred, it could be felt at Modified Mercalli Intensity (MMI) VI-VII in the Cilegon city area and could potentially cause mild, moderate, to severe damage, she noted.

The 8.7-magnitude earthquake could be followed by a tsunami that can potentially give rise to floodwaters reaching up to 8.28 meters in height around the Port of Merak area, she cautioned.

Since the port is located in a bay facing the Sunda Strait and crossing the Merak Besar Island, it potentially amplifies the tsunami wave in the area.

As a result, the tsunami inundation distance could maximally reach some 1.5 km away from the beaches of Tegalratu Village in Ciwandan Sub-district and Warnasari Village in Citangkil Sub-district, Cilegon City.

The two villages’ beaches are known as sloping areas, she noted, adding that the natural disaster could also cause other catastrophic events in the city’s industrial area, such as fires, spread of chemical substances, chemical explosions, and oil spills.

Thus, if the megathrust earthquake and tsunami were to occur, then the Cilegon industrial area could potentially experience technological failure that could cause serious damage to infrastructure facilities and the environment as well as cause injuries, diseases, and fatalities.

“This means that those living in Cilegon City and its nearby areas will potentially face catastrophic risks if the strong earthquake, followed by a tsunami, occurred,” she added.

Source: Antara News