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Undersea Anomalies in Aceh to be Studied
Nurfika Osman | April 19, 2010

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A special geological assessment team will be sent to Aceh to see whether the strong 7.2-magnitude earthquake this month had significantly altered the geography of the area.

Ridwan Djamaluddin, director for mitigation and regional development at the State Agency for the Assessment and Application of Technology (BPPT), said on Sunday that a team of 15 researchers from the BPPT was expected to arrive in Aceh Singkil district on Wednesday.

Residents on Banyak Island, off Aceh Singkil, which was near the epicenter of the quake on April 7, have claimed that the seabed has risen dramatically since the temblor. Undersea fissures were also reportedly spewing out mud and rocks.

“We will be observing the area and the team will be coordinating with the local government as soon as they arrive, collecting the data they need and making their assessment,” Ridwan said, adding that Aceh Governor Irwandi Yusuf had invited the agency to visit the site.

“The Acehnese governor tells us that local people are starting to get worried and they are thinking of moving to a safer place,” he said. “We are going to tell them if it is actually dangerous or not after conducting a thorough analysis.”

Banyak islander Mufliadi previously said that the changes in the seabed were first noted on Tuesday by a fisherman who had been trawling for sea cucumbers in the Gosong Turak waters around Pailana Island, one of the many islets in the chain.

“He was shocked and came back to tell us what he’d seen because the site is a prime fishing spot for local fishermen” but no fish were found in the once abundant area, he said.

Before the quake, the waters at Gosong Turak were 20 to 30 meters deep, but now stood at just five meters, Mufliadi said. He said the villagers were concerned an undersea volcano could be forming.

Ridwan said the assessment team would also visit the Mentawai Islands in West Sumatra to help prepare a tsunami warning system for the area.