Reconstruction of the historical earthquake and volcanic eruption in Colonial Indonesia

2021 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 18K18269
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Early-Career Scientists
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Review Section: Basic Section 80010:Area studies-related
• Research Institution: Tohoku University (2021); Research Institute for Humanity and Nature (2018-2020)
• Principal Investigator: Kajita Ryosuke 東北大学, 高等大学院機構, 特任助教 (40811112)
• Project Period (FY): 2018-04-01 – 2022-03-31
• Keywords: インドネシア / 歴史資料 / 地震 / 火山噴火 / 気象観測記録

Outline of Final Research Achievements

This study focused on the reconstruction of the historical earthquake, volcanic eruption, and precipitation data, which are recorded in the colonial newspapers and related reports. In the early 19th century, the colonial newspapers were important materials for the Dutch colonial government to collect detailed reports about natural disasters. The government officers in each region wrote articles by using clear and precise Dutch expressions for the readers. It was important for them to understand the detail of damages caused by the earthquake and volcanic eruption in geographically distant areas. In the latter 19th century, the precipitation in the dry season indicated a decline over the century and it indicates that climate change has occurred on Sumatera island over the century.

Free Research Field

地域研究

Academic Significance and Societal Importance of the Research Achievements

本研究は自然災害が頻発するインドネシアにおいてこれまで先行研究では対象とされてこなかった蘭語新聞記事や報告書を用いて、歴史的な観測記録を復元し分析を加えたことに学術的な意義がある。近年、インドネシアは地震・火山噴火による被害を大きく受けており、インドネシア気象庁による自然災害・気象観測データの取得は、国としても大きな課題として掲げている。同時に、長期的な観測記録の分析は重要となるため、過去の観測記録、特にオランダ植民地期の記録を復元することは、今後の防災対策の構築などのためにも社会的な意義が大きい研究成果である。