M 4.9 Earthquake In Kendawangan West Kalimantan, The Shaking Felt Strong To Several Areas

Map of the epicenter of the M 4.9 earthquake off Kendawangan Beach, Ketapang Regency, West Kalimantan (ANTARA)

JAKARTA - The Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency (BMKG) reported an earthquake in Kendawangan, Ketapang Regency, West Kalimantan on Friday at 05.09 WIB, with a magnitude of 4.9.

The BMKG Earthquake and Tsunami Mitigation Coordinator Daryono explained that this earthquake caused quite strong shocks in Kendawangan, Tapah, Mangkul, Cat Island, Ketapang, Matan Hilir Selatan Pelang, Pesaguan, Sungaitapan, Pagarantimun, on an intensity scale III - IV Modified Mercalli Intensity ( MMI).

The earthquake was also felt in Benua Kayong on the MMI intensity scale III where the shaking was felt as if a truck was passing

The epicenter of this earthquake was located at coordinates 2.57° South Latitude - 109.98° East Longitude to be precise at sea, off Kendawangan Beach, at a distance of 119 km southwest of Ketapang, with a depth of 10 km.

"The earthquake that occurred was a shallow type of earthquake due to active fault activity on the seabed that had not been identified and had not been previously mapped," said Daryono.

in a written statement received in Jakarta, Antara, Friday, June 1.

BMGK reports that the results of the analysis of the source mechanism show that this earthquake has a horizontal movement source mechanism (strike slip fault).

"Based on preliminary reports, this earthquake caused minor damage to wall houses with poor construction," said Daryono.

He said that although this earthquake was centered in the sea with a shallow depth, modeling results showed that this earthquake had no potential for a tsunami, because its relatively small magnitude had not been able to cause seafloor deformation that could disrupt the seawater column.

As of 08.00 WIB, the results of BMKG monitoring showed that there had been 2 (two) aftershock activities with a magnitude of 4.0 and 3.4.

"The tectonic earthquake that rocked the Kendawangan area this morning was not the first time. A similar earthquake had occurred on June 24, 2016 with a magnitude of 5.1, which seems to have come from the same earthquake source that triggered the earthquake this morning," he said.

He added that the June 24, 2016 earthquake also caused minor damage to several houses and was followed by only one aftershock.

"The people of Kendawangan and its surroundings are advised to remain calm, and not to be provoked by irresponsible issues. The aftershocks that occurred were of small strength and there seems to be no potential for a larger earthquake to occur," said Daryono.