Earthquake Of 5.6 Magnitude Shakes Sulawesi Sea, Caused By Subduction Activity

Illustration (Pixabay)

JAKARTA - Subduction activity caused a tectonic earthquake with a magnitude (M) of 5.6 in the Sulawesi Sea on Saturday at 13.01 WIB, said Head of the Earthquake and Tsunami Center of the Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency, Bambang Setiyo Prayitno.

"By taking into account the location of the epicenter and the depth of the hypocenter, the earthquake that occurred was a medium-sized earthquake due to subduction activity," he said as quoted in a press release from the Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency (BMKG) quoted from Antara, Saturday.

According to the results of the BMKG analysis, the epicenter of the earthquake was in the sea at a depth of 86 km at coordinates 4.66° North Latitude and 126.4° East Longitude, about 78 km northwest of Melonguane City in Talaud Islands Regency, North Sulawesi Province.

Bambang said the results of the analysis of the source mechanism showed that the earthquake had a shear-up movement mechanism.

According to the BMKG, the impact of the earthquake was felt in Tahuna on the MMI II scale, vibrations were felt by several people and caused light objects that were hanging to sway.

Bambang said that according to the modeling results, the earthquake did not have the potential to cause a tsunami.

"As of 13.20 WIB, the results of BMKG monitoring have not shown any aftershocks," he said.

So far, there have been no reports of damage caused by the earthquake.

Bambang appealed to residents in the area around the epicenter of the earthquake to avoid buildings that were cracked or damaged by the earthquake and to ensure that residential buildings were not damaged which could endanger the stability of the building.

BMKG information regarding earthquake events can be monitored through the Instagram and Twitter accounts @infoBMKG, the BMKG official website, and the WRS-BMKG application or BMKG Info.