Uncovering unnoticed small-scale tsunamis: field survey in Lombok, Indonesia, following the 2018 earthquakes
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Uncovering unnoticed small‑scale tsunamis: field survey in Lombok, Indonesia, following the 2018 earthquakes Vana Tsimopoulou1 · Takahito Mikami2 · Tajnova Tanha Hossain3 · Hiroshi Takagi3 · Miguel Esteban4 · Nuki Agya Utama5,6 Received: 19 August 2019 / Accepted: 14 May 2020 © Springer Nature B.V. 2020
Abstract In 2018, Lombok island, Indonesia, was hit by a series of destructive earthquakes that caused thousands of casualties and widespread material damage. In response to those events, a field survey was conducted along the coast of Lombok aiming at collecting data about disaster preparedness and awareness of local inhabitants regarding natural disasters, with a focus on tsunami events. During the survey, the authors interviewed witnesses of small tsunami waves that were generated by the 2018 earthquakes. The work described here encompasses the authors’ field observations, which helped ascertain the occurrence of small-scale tsunamis, and the analysis of data collected via unstructured interviews and a limited questionnaire survey. Attention is drawn to the potential value added by recording small-scale tsunamis for future research, and some insights into what priorities should be set for future disaster risk management in Lombok are provided. The authors suggest that improvements in disaster awareness and education of residents, flood-proofing of houses that are bound to be reconstructed after the earthquakes, and investment in a fully modern flood warning system would be beneficial. Keywords Tsunami · Field survey · Lombok · 2018 earthquakes
1 Introduction In the summer of 2018, the island of Lombok in West Nusa Tenggara, Indonesia (Fig. 1a), was struck by a series of earthquakes. The most prominent ones took place on July 29, August 5 and August 19, with their moment magnitudes being Mw 6.4, Mw 6.9 and Mw 6.9, respectively (Fig. 1b). Following the earthquake on August 5, the National Agency of Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics of Indonesia (BMKG) issued a tsunami evacuation warning, stating that the maximum expected wave height was 50 cm (BMKG 05/08/2018). The earthquakes caused thousands of casualties and widespread material damage (ACAPS 2018). A total of 564 people lost their lives, and 445,343 were displaced. The total economic damage has been estimated to be approximately IDR 17.13 trillion, or * Vana Tsimopoulou [email protected] Extended author information available on the last page of the article
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Natural Hazards
Fig. 1 Map of the study area: (a) islands in Indonesia, (b) seismic events around Lombok Island from June, 2018 to March, 2019 (based on data from the USGS earthquake catalog)
1.09 billion euro (BNPB 2018). Lombok’s economy relies heavily on the agriculture and mining industries, which account for 44% of local domestic production (Indonesia Central Bank 2019). Therefore, any natural disaster can have a big impact on both sectors and influence the economic development of the region. Lombok is situated in Eastern Indonesia, a region that encompasses a
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