Aceh Is In The Active Earthquake Line

Illustration of an earthquake. (Pixabay)

JAKARTA - Aceh Province was hit by an earthquake with a magnitude of 6.4 which shook the West Coast of Aceh on Saturday, September 24, early in the morning WIB.

The Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency (BMKG) said the earthquake did not have the potential for a tsunami. However, the public is asked to remain vigilant.

Based on the BMKG catalog, Aceh Province has been rocked six times by an earthquake that ended in a tsunami, including 1861, 1886, 1907, 2004, 2005 and 2012.

This is due to the position of Aceh Province which is on the route of active earthquake sources triggered by the subduction activity of the Megathrust Aceh-Kamanus segment plate, said the Coordinator for Earthquake and Tsunami Mitigation of BMKG Daryono.

"Aceh's area on land and sea enters an active and complex systemic area because it is located on the route of active earthquake sources," said Daryono, as reported by Antara.

The history of a major earthquake in Aceh that was destructive and triggered a tsunami was recorded on December 26, 2004. At that time, an earthquake measuring magnitude 9 resulted in 283,100 people dying, 14,100 people missing and 1,126,900 people displaced due to causing a large tsunami.

"The results of an ancient tsunami study reveal that a tsunami occurred during prehistoric times which took place in the period 1100 to 1390 AD. This shows that tsunamis in Aceh often occur," he said.

For this reason, significant earthquakes in Aceh need to be watched out for by the local community. "As happened this morning, we need to be careful," he said.

As previously reported, the western coast of Aceh was rocked by a tectonic earthquake with a magnitude of 6.4 on Saturday at 03.53 WIB at an epicenter of 3.75° LU; 95.97° east longitude, precisely at sea 46 km southwest of Meulaboh, West Aceh at a depth of 53 km.

"If the coastal community feels strong earthquake vibrations, it is better for the self-evacuation to stay away from the beach," he said.

In addition to marine areas, BMKG also detected the Sumatran fault lane which is divided into the Aceh, Seulimeum and Tripa segments on the mainland.

Daryono explained that the seismic history in Indonesia shows that the Tripa segment once triggered a destructive earthquake with a magnitude of 7.3 on August 23, 1936 and claimed lives.

Not long ago, the Tripa Segment also triggered an earthquake measuring M5.1 on February 8, 2018, which damaged a number of houses in Geumpang, Pidie.

"This is our concern with the recent increase in the Tripa segment," he said.

Meanwhile, in the Seulimeum segment, said Daryono, it had also triggered a destructive earthquake on April 2, 1964 with M6.5 strength.

"This Aceh segment has not occurred for a long time and this is something to watch out for together," he said.

Community vigilance can be carried out by designing earthquake buildings made of light materials made from wood and bamboo because of various earthquake cases, light buildings are safer when shaken by the earthquake.