MidLand, Jakarta – Last Sunday afternoon, precisely at 2.54pm WIB, Mount Marapi which is located in the administrative area of Agam Regency and Tanah Datar Regency, spewed volcanic ash up to 3,000 meters from its peak.
The phreatic volcanic eruption immediately shocked the community, especially those living at the foot of the mountain which is located at 2,885 meters above sea level (MSL).
Phreatic volcanoes generally never give signs or signals that an eruption is about to occur. This phenomenon occurs due to the activity of groundwater coming into contact with the magma chamber in the bowels of the earth.
Not only did the volcano emit volcanic ash, but it also spewed rock material into residential areas. In fact, the gravel thrown from the bowels of the earth reached the city of Bukittinggi, the city of Padang Panjang and the regency of Tanah Datar.
Volcano Observation and Investigation Coordinator, Center for Volcanology and Geological Disaster Mitigation (PVMBG), Ahmad Basuki, said that before the eruption occurred, there was no significant seismic activity.
While they cannot predict when an eruption will occur because it is phreatic in nature, they recorded 13 deep volcanic earthquakes in December 2022. Not only that, in January 2023 the PVMBG again recorded signs of increased volcanic seismic activity.
After recording or recording volcanic seismic activity, PVMBG immediately released an official statement to anticipate the worst possibilities, especially for mountain climbers.
However, during the accident on Sunday (12/3), a month or a week before the accident, there was absolutely no increase in seismic activity. This makes it even more compelling that phreatic-type volcanoes often erupt without warning before erupting.
After the eruption, the PVMBG immediately issued a notification to relevant parties, including aviation authorities, reporting it to the PVMBG Center in Bandung City and forwarding it to the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources.
In addition to notifying related agencies, PVMBG officials also coordinated with Basarnas to evacuate climbers trapped on the mountain.
The PVMBG Geological Agency or Marapi Guard Post has eight monitoring stations. Each station has various instruments such as earthquake recorders, deformation recorders, surveillance cameras (CCTV) and other instruments.
The Marapi guard post ensures that all equipment is functioning properly, especially during an eruption. However, there were no signs before the eruption occurred.
Understanding the character of the mountains
The eruption of Mount Marapi highlights the importance for everyone, especially mountaineers, to study and understand the character of mountains. Because so far many climbers have taken it for granted that the volcano will emit signals before the eruption.
This way of thinking is a fatal mistake. This is because not all volcanoes always give signals before an eruption occurs, especially phreatic volcanoes, as is the case with Mount Marapi. “To find out the dynamics of magma beneath the surface or the dynamics of volcanoes, sometimes they erupt without any signs,” Ahmad Basuki said.
The PVMBG, as an institution whose job is to regularly record volcanic activity, provided education to the public. This is implemented through local government awareness-raising and mandatory training programs aimed at students.
The character of the Mount Marapi eruption is explosive and effusive with an average rest period of four years. The activity does not always occur in the same crater, but moves in a straight line in an east-southwest direction between Tuo Crater and Bungsu Crater. From early 1987 to the present, eruptions have been explosive and the eruption source is centered in the Verbeek crater.
Over the past two decades, Mount Marapi has experienced eruptions in 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2011, 2012, 2014, 2017, 2018 and 2023.
23 lives are lost
The volcanic eruption in Ranah Minang has left deep wounds. A total of 23 people were reported dead and several victims were injured.
The victims (bodies) evacuated by the joint team were taken to Achmad Mochtar Hospital (RSAM) in Bukittinggi for identification process carried out by the Disaster Victim Identification (DVI) team of West Sumatra Regional Police (Polda).
Announcement
The West Sumatra Province Natural Resources Conservation Agency (BKSDA) recorded that 75 climbers had registered via the online booking system.
Typically the victims are found by joint teams around the crater of Mount Marapi. In fact, the PVMBG of the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources has issued a series of recommendations considering that the mountain’s alert status is level II.
These recommendations include that people around Mount Marapi and visitors/tourists are not allowed to carry out activities/approach Marapi within a three kilometer radius of the crater or summit.
If ash falls, people are advised to wear masks when leaving home to reduce the impact of volcanic ash on health. In addition to this, ensure clean water facilities and clean the roofs of houses from thick volcanic ash so that they do not collapse.
The regional government of Agam Regency and Tanah Datar Regency should always coordinate with PVMBG or through Mount Marapi Bukittinggi Observation Post to obtain information on mountain activity.
The head of the Medical and Health Division (Kabid Dokkes) of the West Sumatra Regional Police, Police Commissioner Drg. Lisda Cancer explained that almost all victims who died and those who survived suffered burns to parts of their bodies.
In general, the West Sumatra Police DVI team identifies victims by fingerprinting using a tool directly linked to E-KTP data. Apart from this, the team also compared the victim’s data using objects, marks on the body and so on.
“For victims whose fingerprints can no longer be used, we have other methods, such as examining teeth, moles, tattoos, wounds, birthmarks, surgical scars and so on,” he explained.
However, if these two methods are unsuccessful, the medical team will trace or identify the victim using deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA).
Then, to examine or identify the victims, the DVI TEAM of the West Sumatra Police sent around 50 doctors. The medical team was from Bukittinggi Police, Tanah Datar Police, Padang Panjang Police, Agam Police, Bukittinggi Hospital, Dr. M. Djamil Padang, Riau Islands Regional Police at Headquarters national police.
West Sumatra regional police said they had opened up the possibility of investigating and assessing those responsible for climbing permits on Mount Marapi, which has been known to be banned from climbing since 2011, particularly three kilometers from the summit. “Since 2011 there have been warnings not to climb mountains that are still volcanic,” said Inspector General Suharyono, head of the West Sumatra regional police.
Climbers who access via official stations must certainly follow the mechanisms or standard operating procedures (SOPs) established by the manager or permit provider.
Dian Indriati, daily manager of BKSDA West Sumatra (PLH), said that long before the reactivation was announced, the conservation guard had worked wholeheartedly installing warning boards and road signs. “The officers work day and night. They keep going through the pouring rain to put up information boards,” she said.
With the reactivation of hundreds of people who previously climbed the mountain, they may now be restricted because they are high risk. However, the limited number of officers cannot prevent climbers from climbing even without proper climbing equipment.
The reactivation of Mount Marapi Natural Tourism Park was carried out on July 24, 2023 with the support of various parties to support tourism in West Sumatra Province. The improvement of the economy of the surrounding community and the strengthening of the functionality of the area itself is accompanied by the implementation of an online booking system to monitor and register climbers and visitors with certainty.
From the eruption of Mount Marapi, at least the community can learn important lessons on respecting all regulations issued by stakeholders. Also literacy or knowledge mitigation Continuous volcanic danger is also a must for everyone.
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