Magnitude 5 Earthquake Causes Building Damage In North Halmahera

The mosque building in Ngidiho Village, West Galela District, North Halmahera Regency, North Maluku Province, was damaged by an earthquake with a magnitude of 5 on Monday (4/18/2022). (ANTARA/HO-BMKG)

JAKARTA - The Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency (BMKG) reported an earthquake with a magnitude of 5 that occurred on Monday at 10.04 WIB caused damage to buildings in the North Halmahera Regency, North Maluku Province.

"Recent reports indicate that the earthquake that occurred has caused damage to the mosque building in Ngidiho Village, West Galela," said BMKG Earthquake and Tsunami Mitigation Coordinator Daryono in a written statement received in Jakarta as reported by Antara, Monday, April 18.

Daryono explained that the earthquake, which had its center on land at a depth of 116 km at coordinates 1.97 degrees North latitude and 127.83 degrees East longitude, was a medium-sized earthquake due to the subduction activity of the Maluku Sea Plate under Halmahera.

"The results of the analysis of the source mechanism show that the earthquake has a combined mechanism of shear and up movement," he said, adding that according to the modeling results, the earthquake did not have the potential to cause a tsunami.

According to Daryono, the shocks caused by the earthquake were felt on the MMI IV intensity scale in Galela and on the MMI II to III scale in Tobelo. On the MMI II scale the vibrations were felt by several people and light objects that were hung swayed. Vibrations on the MMI III scale are felt inside the house, it feels as if a truck is passing.

On the MMI IV scale, the shock caused by the earthquake during the day was felt by many people inside the house and some outside the house and caused pottery to shatter, windows and doors creaked, and walls to rattle.

According to the results of BMKG monitoring as of 10:42 WIB, there was no aftershock activity after the earthquake with a magnitude of 5 which occurred at 10:04 WIB.