Does Indonesia Have an Emergency Alert System? An Introduction to InaMHEWS

Indonesia is one of the most disaster-prone countries in the world. Thus, natural disasters frequently hit this region. According to reports, thousands of Indonesians died in disasters in the past because they didn’t know that disasters were coming. Does Indonesia have an emergency alert system?

An emergency alert system is essential for improving people’s disaster preparedness. Therefore, most countries worldwide have this system. However, some regions have only had it recently. Moreover, several countries have more traditional alert systems than others.

A Glimpse of Indonesia’s Disaster Risks and Disaster Risk Reduction Efforts

Natural disasters frequently occur in Indonesia. Each year, floods, extreme weather, and other hydrometeorological hazards hit various provinces in this country. In 2025, more than 1,200 people died or were missing after flash floods and landslides swept several provinces in Sumatra.

Moreover, Indonesia has high earthquake and tsunami risks. In 2006, authorities reported that more than 5,000 people died due to a shallow earthquake in Yogyakarta. Furthermore, the Indian Ocean tsunami in 2004 caused over 167,000 fatalities in Aceh.

Volcanic eruptions also frequently occur in Indonesia. Currently, at least two active volcanoes in this country are at level III alert. Another natural disaster that often hits this region is a landslide. Landslides in Indonesia typically occur after prolonged heavy rain.

Before the 2004 tsunami, the Indonesian government was more focused on responding to disasters. Consequently, many hazards caused high fatalities and casualties. However, after the tsunami, the Indonesian government has learnt that responding alone is not enough to manage disaster risks.

Therefore, the government started to pay more attention to disaster prevention and mitigation. The shifted focus can be seen from the new Indonesia Alert System and the implementation of disaster-resilient construction. 

Does Indonesia Have an Emergency Alert System?

Considering the explanation above, the answer to the question of ‘Does Indonesia have an emergency alert system?’ is yes. Since 2005, Indonesia has developed several emergency warning systems for different hazards. Now, the country has adopted a multi-hazard warning system.

1. History of Indonesia’s Emergency Warning System

The development of Indonesia’s emergency warning system began after 2004. Before that year, most regions adopted a traditional alert-disseminating method, such as a kentongan (wooden slit drum). A villager will beat this instrument to warn others about a fire, theft, or flood.

He will beat a kentongan in a specific rhythm depending on the danger type. However, this method is not effective because it only works for a limited radius and is ideal only for hazards affecting a small area.

In 2005, the Indonesian government worked with Germany in developing an early tsunami warning system. They call it GITEWS (Germany-Indonesia Tsunami Early Warning System).

In 2008, the collaboration ended, and Indonesia launched InaTEWS (Indonesia Tsunami Early Warning System). After that, the country developed an earthquake early warning system (InaEEWS). Moreover, Indonesia launched a multi-hazard warning system in 2025.

2. Emergency Warning System in Indonesia

Since 2025, Indonesia has adopted InaMHEWS (Indonesia Multi-Hazard Early Warning System). It is a command center that integrates early detections of earthquakes, tsunamis, and extreme weather.

The adoption of this system aims to disseminate emergency alerts and improve the country’s preparedness in dealing with disasters. Indonesian emergency alert system contains the following components.

• MWS:  Indonesia’s meteorological warning system (MWS) can predict the weather for the next ten days in all of Indonesia’s provinces up to the sub-district level. Therefore, Indonesians can prepare for extreme weather several days in advance.

• CEWS: The climatological early warning system provides long-term and mid-term climate predictions. This information is highly needed by the agricultural, fishery, and energy sectors.

• EEWS: The earthquake early warning system is vital in Indonesia. This system can detect primary seismic waves early. Thus, the system can predict the earthquake magnitude and warn people in the affected areas.

• TEWS: The tsunami early warning system is also essential in this country. This system provides real-time data on tsunami monitoring. Therefore, InaMHEWS can warn people on the affected coasts a few minutes before the first tsunami wave hits them.

3. Warning Dissemination Methods

The Indonesia emergency warning system utilizes several methods in disseminating alerts. One of them is SMS broadcast. Authorities will send SMS warnings three minutes prior to the emergency occurring. They will only send SMS alerts to cell phones in affected regions.

Moreover, this system has a social media platform and a mobile app for broadcasting alerts to its users. Authorities also use sirens to warn people in the affected areas. 

Does Indonesia have an emergency alert system? Yes, but it only works for natural disasters, such as tsunamis and extreme weather. Despite this limitation, the country has improved its alert dissemination method. Other countries planning to improve their emergency alert dissemination can purchase location-based SMS broadcasters on smsbroadcaster.com.