Tomini Bay Earthquake Tojo Una-Una Central Sulawesi, Bolaang-Bunta Coastal Residents Asked To Stay Away From The Beach

JAKARTA - The Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency (BMKG) asked the coastal communities of Bolaang and Bunta to stay away from the coast in connection with an earthquake with a magnitude of 6.5 in the Tomini Bay area, Tojo Una-Una Regency, Central Sulawesi.

"People on the coast of Bolaang and Bunta stay away from the beach and are advised to stay calm and not be influenced by issues that cannot be justified. To avoid buildings that are cracked or damaged by the earthquake", said Head of the BMKG Earthquake and Tsunami Center, Bambang Setiyo Prayitno, quoted by Antara, Monday, July 26.

BMKG also asks the public to check and ensure that the residential buildings are earthquake-resistant, or that there is no damage caused by earthquake vibrations that endanger the stability of the building before you return home.

The earthquake was felt strongly by residents in the Ampana area, with a scale of V-VI MMI. The tremors were felt by all residents, in which case most people were shocked and ran outside.

In addition to the area, Bambang said the earthquake was also felt by residents of Luwuk, Poso, Morowali with a scale of V MMI, the vibrations felt by almost all residents, and many people woke up.

Then in the areas of South Bolmong, East Bolmong, Kotamobagu, Gorontalo City, Gorontalo Regency, Buol, Bone Bolango, Pohuwato with a scale of III-IV MMI, where during the day it is felt by many people in the house.

Furthermore, in Tomohon, Manado, Ratahan, Bobong, North Konawe, North Kolaka, Masamba with an MMI II-III scale, where the vibrations are felt real in the house, the vibrations feel as if a truck is passing. Then in Center Mamuju, Polewali II MMI, where vibrations were felt by several people, light objects that were hung swayed.

The epicenter of the earthquake is located at coordinates 0.77° South Latitude; 121.95° east longitude, or to be precise, located in the sea at a distance of 58 km to the northeast of Tojo Una-Una Regency, Central Sulawesi at a depth of 10 km. Until now, said Bambang, there has been no report on the impact of the damage caused by the earthquake.

By taking into account the location of the epicenter and the depth of the hypocenter, the earthquake that occurred was a shallow earthquake due to deformation due to local faults.

"The results of the analysis of the source mechanism show that the earthquake has a normal movement mechanism (a normal fault)", said Bambang.

"The modeling results show that this earthquake has no potential to cause a tsunami," said Bambang.

As of Monday, July 26, 2021, at 19.40 WIB, the results of BMKG monitoring showed 1 M3,4 aftershock activity.