6.1 Magnitude Earthquake Occurred, Residents Of Central Maluku Evacuate To The Highlands

JAKARTA - Residents of the coastal village of Tehoru Subdistrict, Central Maluku Regency, Maluku, panicked and fled to the highlands due to the shock of the 6.1 magnitude earthquake in the area on Wednesday, June 16.

"Residents panicked, the earthquake was very strong and near the coast, they have fled to the highlands", said an employee of the Tehoru sub-district office, Saifuddin Silawane when contacted via telephone in Ambon, reported by Antara, Wednesday.

According to Saifuddin, initially, the residents were not so panicked when the first earthquake occurred around 12.22 p.m. local time, they just came out of the house building. Residents started running to flee to higher ground during the aftershock with a magnitude of 6.1.

Until now, panic still persists in Tehoru, Mahu, and Articleolu Villages, many residents who had gone to the highlands chose to return home to collect valuables to join them.

"Initially, because the shaking was small, the residents did not panic, they just came out of their houses, but when the next aftershock came, they ran to the highlands", said Saifuddin.

He said that when the 6.1 magnitude earthquake occurred, the seawater was receding. -Suddenly the tide reached a height of approximately two meters from the coastal barrier wall and seemed to be wavy for more than an hour.

This phenomenon added to the panic of residents in the local coastal area.

"Seawater had risen and was still wavy until 15.00 p.m. local time, The waves are quite strong from the middle of the sea to the coast", said Saifuddin.

The report from the Ambon Class I Geophysics Station (Stageof Ambon) the earthquake happened twice in Central Maluku. The first earthquake had a magnitude of 3.5 at 6 km southwest of Tehoru at around 12:22 p.m. local time, and a magnitude 6.1 earthquake at 40 km east of Masohi City, a depth of 10 kilometers at 13:43.08 p.m local time.

The Meteorology Climatology and Geophysics Agency (BMKG) also appealed to residents to be aware of aftershocks and potential tsunami caused by a landslide under the sea on the coast of Japutih, Central Maluku Regency.