After assessing our own criteria as well as Indonesia's current situation, we have created and selected a few solutions of our own that we believe would also be very effective:
Implementation of underwater detection systems for tsunamis
If the epicentre of a tsunami is far enough off the coast of Indonesia, tsunami detection systems can be used to identify the region where the tsunami is likely to hit, and thus an immediate evacuation can be organized to avoid loss of life. Since tsunami waves in deep water create a small but measurable change in pressure, by monitoring such changes, sub-sea tsunami detectors can be used to trigger an alarm to send back signals to government warning centres via satellite, telling them when and where a tsunami may occur, meaning they have much more time to make crucial decisions. If such a system had been deployed prior to the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami, the resulting impact could've been reduced significantly.
Stronger buildings that can withstand earthquakes
The existing infrastructure of Indonesia is notoriously weak, with earthquakes, tsunamis and volcanoes often destroying entire communities, since the buildings collapse very easily. We highly recommend that the existing buildings and infrastructure are gradually replaced with buildings like those of Japan currently. Since Japan also regularly experiences natural disasters, they have learnt to cope by constructing buildings that are made earthquake proof with the aid of deep foundations and massive shock absorbers that minimize seismic energy, as well as having buildings that can move semi-independently to its superstructure, which thus reduces the shaking from an earthquake. If Indonesia were to also have this type of infrastructure, the economic impact that the nation currently continually takes from destroyed buildings will be lowered considerably.
Installation of ground fault and volcano monitoring instruments
To ensure early detection of ground faults that cause volcanic eruptions and earthquakes, we recommend that Indonesia installs simple monitoring instruments such as strainmeters and tiltmeters. Strainmeters measure deformation in the earth's crust much more effectively than seismometers and at longer periods, they are also able to record the gradual accumulation of stress in plate tectonics, and thus predict the eruption of a volcano. Similarly, tiltmeters are highly sensitive instruments used to measure ground tilt near faults and volcanoes caused by fault slip and volcanic uplift.
Educating Indonesians on how to cope with loss
At a young age, it should be taught to students in schools in Indonesia ways that can be used to cope with loss. At the moment, a large number of Indonesians are socially and morally destroyed by natural disasters. It should be brought to their attention that a number of governments and organizations such as USAID, Red Cross and WHO offer services that aim to assist and guide them back to having a normal life. Indonesians may be under heavy stress from plate tectonics and natural disasters, but help will always be provided and with time, they may gradually be able to cope.
If the epicentre of a tsunami is far enough off the coast of Indonesia, tsunami detection systems can be used to identify the region where the tsunami is likely to hit, and thus an immediate evacuation can be organized to avoid loss of life. Since tsunami waves in deep water create a small but measurable change in pressure, by monitoring such changes, sub-sea tsunami detectors can be used to trigger an alarm to send back signals to government warning centres via satellite, telling them when and where a tsunami may occur, meaning they have much more time to make crucial decisions. If such a system had been deployed prior to the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami, the resulting impact could've been reduced significantly.
Stronger buildings that can withstand earthquakes
The existing infrastructure of Indonesia is notoriously weak, with earthquakes, tsunamis and volcanoes often destroying entire communities, since the buildings collapse very easily. We highly recommend that the existing buildings and infrastructure are gradually replaced with buildings like those of Japan currently. Since Japan also regularly experiences natural disasters, they have learnt to cope by constructing buildings that are made earthquake proof with the aid of deep foundations and massive shock absorbers that minimize seismic energy, as well as having buildings that can move semi-independently to its superstructure, which thus reduces the shaking from an earthquake. If Indonesia were to also have this type of infrastructure, the economic impact that the nation currently continually takes from destroyed buildings will be lowered considerably.
Installation of ground fault and volcano monitoring instruments
To ensure early detection of ground faults that cause volcanic eruptions and earthquakes, we recommend that Indonesia installs simple monitoring instruments such as strainmeters and tiltmeters. Strainmeters measure deformation in the earth's crust much more effectively than seismometers and at longer periods, they are also able to record the gradual accumulation of stress in plate tectonics, and thus predict the eruption of a volcano. Similarly, tiltmeters are highly sensitive instruments used to measure ground tilt near faults and volcanoes caused by fault slip and volcanic uplift.
Educating Indonesians on how to cope with loss
At a young age, it should be taught to students in schools in Indonesia ways that can be used to cope with loss. At the moment, a large number of Indonesians are socially and morally destroyed by natural disasters. It should be brought to their attention that a number of governments and organizations such as USAID, Red Cross and WHO offer services that aim to assist and guide them back to having a normal life. Indonesians may be under heavy stress from plate tectonics and natural disasters, but help will always be provided and with time, they may gradually be able to cope.