The laboratories, the second of their kind after the one in Kobe, Japan, will cover the working area of the Asian continent and the Indian Ocean.Banda Aceh, Aceh (ANTARA News) - Three international natural disaster research laboratories are to be built in Simeulue district, Aceh province as the region is frequently hit by earthquakes, an officail said.
The head of the Regional Disaster Management Agency (BPBD) of Simeulue district Mulyadinsyah said here Friday the laboratories, the second of their kind after the one in Kobe, Japan, will cover the working area of the Asian continent and the Indian Ocean.
"I get the information from the Banda Aceh TDRMC (Tsunami Disaster Mitigation Research Center) that the budget amounted to Rp40 billion," Mulyadinsyah said.
He explained the research offices would be located in West Teupah, South Teupah and Alafan districts.
Simeulue was chosen as the location of the laboratories because the area has specific characteristics and has been repeatedly hit by major earthquakes but not fatal to the local people.
The construction of the research office and laboratories will be preceded by a visit of international natural disaster experts.
"It is planned that the implementation of the construction would be started from mid 2012 and completed in 2014," Mulyadinsyah noted.
Previously a number of natural disaster research expert teams have conducted a survey in research laboratories in Simueulue and assumed that laboratories for natural disasters in the island were very important. In fact there is possibility to build a similar lab in eastern regions of Indonesia.
"This is an asset of Indonesia and the world which is located in Simeulue. The international attention on natural disasters is focused on Simeulue," Mulyadinsyah said.
The plan is also justified by the head of Tsunami and Disaster Research Migitation Center (TDRMC) of Aceh province M.Dirhamsyah.
He stated that Simeulue was an appropriate location for the construction of natural disaster laboratories because it had a seismic characteristic and is reinforced with the local wisdom that has been proven to save the local community when the earthquake and tsunami occurred.
In addition Simeulue island is located in Indian Ocean territory.
"With the presence of a natural disaster research laboratory all natural disaster experts in the world will flock to Simeulue," Dr.Dirhamsyah said.(*)
Editor: Heru Purwanto
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