BMKG: Earthquake Activity During January 2020 Still Normal

Ilustrasu. (Photo: Unsplash)

JAKARTA - The results of monitoring by the Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency (BMKG) on tectonic earthquake activity in Indonesia in January 2020 occurred 518 times in various variations in magnitude and depth or were still in normal conditions.

"With the number of tectonic earthquakes in January 2020 totaling 518 times, seismic activity in January 2020 is said to be in a normal condition," said BMKG Head of Earthquake and Tsunami Mitigation Daryono in Jakarta, Sunday 2 February.

Daryono added, the number of earthquakes during January 2020 decreased when compared to December 2019 which occurred as many as 691 earthquakes.

"This is based on data that on average a month in Indonesia there are about 500 tectonic earthquakes," he said.

Earthquake activity during January 2020 was dominated by small earthquakes with a magnitude of less than 5 which occurred 500 times. Meanwhile, significant earthquakes with magnitudes above 5 only occurred 18 times.

"Meanwhile, in January 2020 the earthquake with shocks felt by the community occurred 54 times," he said.

During January 2020 there was only one destructive earthquake, namely the Simeulue Island Earthquake with a magnitude of 6.4 on January 7, 2020 which caused minor damage to several houses. This earthquake was triggered by plate subduction activity in the megathrust zone.