Indonesia is exploring an unusual approach to disaster preparedness: using mosque loudspeakers as part of a future earthquake early-warning network. The idea is to connect existing community communication infrastructure with seismic monitoring technology so that people can receive alerts when an earthquake is detected.
The initiative involves Indonesian and Japanese researchers examining how warning signals could be distributed through local facilities, including mosques. The approach is designed for a country where earthquakes are frequent, communities are spread across a vast archipelago, and mobile connectivity may not always be dependable during emergencies.
Editorial Insight
Key Highlights
Important points readers should notice.
Issue/Event: Indonesia is exploring mosque loudspeakers as an additional channel for earthquake early warnings.
Location: Indonesia, with research and testing involving areas in western Java and the Jakarta region.
Authority/Organisation: Indonesian research partners, including the National Research and Innovation Agency, working with Japanese researchers associated with Kyoto University.
Action Taken: A collaborative research programme is testing approaches to earthquake detection, warning dissemination and community response. The programme is expected to continue until 2030.
Impact: If successfully tested and implemented, the approach could help distribute alerts to communities that may not reliably receive smartphone notifications. The system is not yet a nationwide public service.
The research has been developed through cooperation involving Kyoto University and Indonesian research partners. The programme is examining not only how warnings can be transmitted, but also how people should respond when an alert arrives.
The initiative remains under development. It should not be confused with an operational nationwide warning service, and the use of mosque loudspeakers does not mean every mosque in Indonesia is already connected to an earthquake-detection network.
Why use mosque loudspeakers?
Editorial Analysis
Why This Matters
Earthquake early-warning systems can provide a short window for protective action after an earthquake begins. Using familiar community infrastructure could help extend the reach of alerts, particularly where mobile connectivity is unreliable. The initiative also highlights an important principle in disaster management: detecting a hazard is only one part of saving lives. Warnings must reach people quickly, and communities need clear instructions on how to respond.
Indonesia has a large network of mosques distributed across urban neighbourhoods, towns and rural communities. Many already have loudspeakers and established routines for maintaining and operating them.
Researchers are investigating whether this existing infrastructure can provide an additional channel for emergency communication. Rather than building an entirely new public-address network from scratch, the programme could potentially make use of facilities that communities already recognise and maintain.
This could be particularly useful in areas where internet access is inconsistent or where residents may not have smartphones capable of receiving app-based alerts. A loudspeaker announcement could reach people who are outdoors, working nearby or not actively checking a phone.
However, the approach has practical limitations. Sound may not reach every home, particularly indoors or in noisy environments. Large communities may need several speakers, and the equipment must remain connected to a reliable alert source.
The system would also require clear safeguards to prevent false or unauthorised announcements. Residents would need to know how to recognise a genuine warning and what action to take when they hear it.
How does an earthquake early-warning system work?
An earthquake early-warning system does not predict an earthquake days or hours before it happens. Instead, it detects an earthquake after it has begun and attempts to warn locations that may experience stronger shaking moments later.
When an earthquake starts, it generates seismic waves that travel through the ground. Monitoring sensors can detect the initial, faster-moving P-waves and use the information to estimate the event and its possible effects. More damaging shaking may arrive later, depending on the distance from the earthquake's source.
If the warning system processes the information quickly enough, it can send an alert before stronger shaking reaches a particular location.
The available warning time may be only a few seconds. Locations close to the earthquake's source may receive little or no advance notice because the shaking can arrive before the warning is processed and distributed.
For that reason, an early-warning system is a tool for rapid protective action, not a guarantee that everyone will receive an alert before an earthquake is felt.
Why Indonesia needs a locally adapted approach
Indonesia lies in the Pacific Ring of Fire, a broad region associated with frequent earthquakes and volcanic activity. Its geography presents major challenges for disaster communication because communities are spread across numerous islands and differ in infrastructure, building construction and access to emergency services.
A warning system must do more than detect an earthquake. It also needs to communicate reliable information quickly and help residents respond in ways that reduce the risk of injury.
The mosque-loudspeaker concept addresses one part of this challenge: how to distribute a warning after it has been generated. It does not replace seismic sensors, communication networks, emergency planning or building-safety measures.
Researchers are also examining how people behave during earthquakes and how safety guidance should reflect local building conditions. Advice suitable for one country or building type may not always translate directly to another setting.
This makes public education an important part of the project. A warning is useful only if people understand it, trust its source and know what action to take.
Could the system save lives?
An effective warning system can provide valuable seconds for protective action. Depending on the location and circumstances, that time may allow people to move away from dangerous equipment, stop certain industrial processes, slow transport operations or take cover.
The benefits depend on several factors: the quality of seismic detection, the speed of data processing, the reliability of the communication network and the time available before strong shaking arrives.
The loudspeaker network would add another layer to the warning process. It could broaden the ways alerts reach communities, but it cannot eliminate the physical limitations of earthquake early warning.
For example, a community close to the earthquake's epicentre may have almost no time to react. A warning may also be delayed if equipment loses power, communication links fail or the alert cannot be heard clearly.
The project therefore needs to be evaluated through testing, simulations and community exercises before its effectiveness can be established at a larger scale.
What is the role of Japan?
Japan has extensive experience with earthquake early-warning technology and public alert systems. Cooperation with Japanese researchers gives the Indonesian programme an opportunity to study approaches to seismic detection, warning distribution and emergency response.
The partnership is also examining how warnings can lead to practical actions, rather than simply producing an alert sound. This includes considering how people should respond in different buildings and how transport or industrial systems might be made safer when a warning arrives.
The value of international cooperation lies in adapting technical knowledge to local conditions. Indonesia's geography, construction patterns and community communication systems differ from those of Japan, so the system will need to be tested and tailored rather than copied without modification.
What happens before a wider rollout?
The research programme is expected to continue until 2030. Before a broader rollout could be considered, researchers and authorities would need to assess how reliably the system detects relevant earthquakes, how quickly warnings reach speakers and whether residents respond appropriately.
Testing would also need to address equipment maintenance, backup power, communication failures and safeguards against false alerts. The authorities would need to define which agencies can issue warnings and how residents can verify information.
Community exercises could help determine whether announcements are audible, understandable and useful in different settings. Lessons from those exercises could inform the wording of warnings and the protective actions recommended to residents.
Until the programme's status changes, residents should continue relying on official disaster-management information and established earthquake-safety guidance. They should not assume that a mosque loudspeaker will provide advance warning during every earthquake.
