Banten (ANTARA News) - President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono Wednesday asked the people to stay alert and follow the standing self-safety procedures in case of earthquakes and tsunamis.
"I ask the people not to panic in overcoming a state of emergency in the event of earthquakes and tsunamis," the president said after attending an earthquake and tsunami drill at Gunung Sugih village in Banten province.
The village was chosen as the site of the drill because it was close to chemical industries that might threaten the lives of employees and local residents in the event of an earthquake and tsunami.
The drill involved local residents and personnel from the Indonesian Army, the National Police, the Social Service Ministry, the Health Ministry, the Meteorology and Geophysics Agency (BMG), and the Agency for Assessment and Application of Technology (BPPT) as well as employees from nearby factories.
In the drill, rescue workers tried to evacuate victims contaminated by chemicals.
In front of thousands of local residents and factory employees, the head of state expressed hope that the number of victims could be reduced by promoting the people`s knowledge about how to save themselves in the event of an earthquake or tsunami.
He said Indonesia was susceptible to tsunamis.
In the past century, Indonesia saw a total of 212 earthquakes ranging with low, medium and high intensities, he said.
Of the total, 86 had triggered tsunamis, including a deadly one that devastated Nanggroe Aceh Darussalam province on the western tip of Sumatra island on December 26, 2004, he said.
"From the historical record, of course, we are determined to reduce the number of victims," he said.
"Do you want a tsunami to happen here?" he asked.
"No," the audience said.
"That`s why, let us pray so God Almighty will keep this area and the rest of the country away from all kinds of disasters, including tsunamis," he said.
On the one hand Indonesia was vulnerable to earthquakes and tsunamis, on the other it was endowed with abundant resources useful for national development, he said.
He said experts had done their utmost to develop a tsunami early warning system in the past three years.
"In the past, we did not know there would be tsunami. With a new instrument, in 2005 we would know it 12 minutes and in 2006 nine minutes following an earthquake. But with advanced technology, we now know it only five minutes after an earthquake happens," he said.
He said such earthquake and tsunami drills were also conducted in Padang, West Sumatra, in 2005 and Denpasar, Bali, in 2006.(*)
"I ask the people not to panic in overcoming a state of emergency in the event of earthquakes and tsunamis," the president said after attending an earthquake and tsunami drill at Gunung Sugih village in Banten province.
The village was chosen as the site of the drill because it was close to chemical industries that might threaten the lives of employees and local residents in the event of an earthquake and tsunami.
The drill involved local residents and personnel from the Indonesian Army, the National Police, the Social Service Ministry, the Health Ministry, the Meteorology and Geophysics Agency (BMG), and the Agency for Assessment and Application of Technology (BPPT) as well as employees from nearby factories.
In the drill, rescue workers tried to evacuate victims contaminated by chemicals.
In front of thousands of local residents and factory employees, the head of state expressed hope that the number of victims could be reduced by promoting the people`s knowledge about how to save themselves in the event of an earthquake or tsunami.
He said Indonesia was susceptible to tsunamis.
In the past century, Indonesia saw a total of 212 earthquakes ranging with low, medium and high intensities, he said.
Of the total, 86 had triggered tsunamis, including a deadly one that devastated Nanggroe Aceh Darussalam province on the western tip of Sumatra island on December 26, 2004, he said.
"From the historical record, of course, we are determined to reduce the number of victims," he said.
"Do you want a tsunami to happen here?" he asked.
"No," the audience said.
"That`s why, let us pray so God Almighty will keep this area and the rest of the country away from all kinds of disasters, including tsunamis," he said.
On the one hand Indonesia was vulnerable to earthquakes and tsunamis, on the other it was endowed with abundant resources useful for national development, he said.
He said experts had done their utmost to develop a tsunami early warning system in the past three years.
"In the past, we did not know there would be tsunami. With a new instrument, in 2005 we would know it 12 minutes and in 2006 nine minutes following an earthquake. But with advanced technology, we now know it only five minutes after an earthquake happens," he said.
He said such earthquake and tsunami drills were also conducted in Padang, West Sumatra, in 2005 and Denpasar, Bali, in 2006.(*)
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