5.0 Magnitude Earthquake Shakes Talaud Islands, North Sulawesi, BMKG: No Tsunami Potential

Screenshot - Map of the M5.0 epicenter in the Southwest Coast of the Talaud Islands, North Sulawesi, Saturday September (photo: dock. intermediate)

JAKARTA - The Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency (BMKG) said an earthquake measuring 5.0 magnitude rocked the southwest coast of the Talaud Islands, North Sulawesi. "Modeling results show that this earthquake has no potential for a tsunami," said Head of the BMKG Earthquake and Tsunami Center, Daryono in Jakarta, Saturday, September 16. He said the epicenter of the earthquake was located at coordinates 3.91 north latitude and 126.51 east longitude, or precisely located at sea at a distance of 21 km southwest of Melonguane, Talaud Islands, North Sulawesi at a depth of 49 km. "With attention to the location of the epicenter and the depth of the hypocenter, the earthquake that occurred was a shallow type of earthquake due to deformation of the rocks in the Maluku Sea Plate," he said. He added the results of the analysis of the source mechanism showing that the earthquake had a shear movement mechanism (strike-slip).

Ia menambahkan hingga pukul 17.25 WIB, hasil monitoring BMKG belum menunjukkan adanya aktivitas gempa bumi susulan (aftershock).Ia mengemukakan gempa yang terjadi pada pukul 17.04 WIB itu berdampak dan dirasakan di daerah Talaud dengan skala intensitas IV MMI (modified mercally intensity), artinya bila pada siang hari dirasakan oleh orang banyak dalam rumah).Ia mengimbau kepada masyarakat agar menghindari dari bangunan yang retak atau rusak diakibatkan oleh gempa."Periksa dan pastikan bangunan tempat tinggal anda cukup tahan gempa, ataupun tidak ada kerusakan akibat getaran gempa yang membahayakan kestabilan bangunan sebelum anda kembali ke dalam rumah," tuturnya.Selain itu, ia juga mengimbau agar masyarakat tetap tenang dan tidak terpengaruh oleh isu yang tidak dapat dipertanggungjawabkan kebenarannya.