BMKG Calls The New Island Phenomenon Post-Maluku Post-Earthquake Not The First Time It HAPPENED, Usually It Will Go Lost

The phenomenon of a new island in Teinaman Village, northern Tanimbar sub-district, after an earthquake measuring 7.5 magnitude rocked Maluku. BETWEEN residents/Ho-Documentation.

JAKARTA - Head of Earthquake and Tsunami Mitigation Division of the Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency (BMKG) Daryono revealed that the natural phenomenon of the emergence of a mud mountain that looks like a new island after the Maluku earthquake on Tuesday, January 10, is not the first time this has happened. The earthquake that rocked Maluku yesterday had a magnitude of 7.5. After the incident, social media was shocked by the emergence of natural peculiarities in the form of a new island that appeared on the sea surface of the Tanimbar Islands Regency, Maluku. "Actually, this kind of natural event is an ordinary natural phenomenon known as the emergence of a popular mud mountain called a mud volcano. This mud mountain sometimes appears on the surface some time after a strong earthquake," Daryono told VOI, Wednesday, January 11. Daryono explained, the phenomenon of a new island after this kind of earthquake has occurred in a number of countries. He gave an example, there was the emergence of a new island after the Ormara earthquake, Makran, on November 28, 1945; the Niikappu earthquake, Japan, on March 4, 1956, the Gobi Altay earthquake, Mongolia on December 4, 1957; the Kandewari earthquake, Pakistan on January 26, 2001; the Andaman earthquake on December 26, 2004; and the Gwadar earthquake in Pakistan on September 24, 2013. Based on previous incidents, Daryono said that generally the phenomenon of this new island will disappear by itself. "Slumps like this will disappear by itself because usually sea water is eroded because it is not compact material," said Daryono. Furthermore, Daryono explained the process of the occurrence of a new post-earthquake island phenomenon. Physically, the pressure inside the Earth's skin layer accumulates when the underground liquid and gas cannot get out as a result of being trapped in the sediment layer. "This soft material is trapped which can then become overpressure if it is suppressed by tectonic forces or because of input from strong earthquake shocks as input motion," he explained. The quake put more pressure on the plastic layer below; as the pressure on the deeper layers loosens, the pressure spreads outwards. The new island's mud mountain finally forms when the liquid and gas in the Earth find their way out to the surface through rock fractures formed due to strong earthquake shocks. "Furthermore, this soft material slowly moves upwards through the fracture, bringing mud material to form a mud mountain," he added.