BMKG: No Report Of Damage Due To Earthquake In Mentawai Islands

JAKARTA - The Coordinator for Earthquake and Tsunami Mitigation of the Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency (BMKG), Daryono, said that as of Monday at 07.30 WIB there had been no reports of damage caused by an earthquake with a magnitude of 6.7 that occurred in the Mentawai Islands region.

Daryono said that the earthquake that occurred at 04.09 WIB was felt in North Siberut and Batu Islands on the MMI V-VI intensity scale.

In addition, vibrations due to the earthquake were felt on the MMI IV scale in Padang and Gunungsitoli; on a scale of III MMI in Padang Panjang, Bukittinggi, West Pasaman, Tuapejat, and Pariaman; and on the MMI II scale in Dharmasraya, Payakumbuh, Kerinci, South Tapanuli, Batusangkar, Padang Pariaman, and Solok.

According to him, the earthquake, whose center was at coordinates 0.71° South Latitude and 98.50° East Longitude at a depth of 25 km, was a shallow earthquake caused by plate subduction activity in the Megathrust Zone of the Mentawai-Siberut segment.

"The results of the tsunami modeling by the BMKG show that this earthquake does not have the potential for a tsunami because its strength has not been able to create seafloor deformation to cause disturbance to the seawater column", he said in a written statement received in Jakarta, Monday, March 14.

As of 05.10 WIB, according to BMKG monitoring results, there have been four aftershocks with the largest magnitude of 6.0 after the earthquake with a magnitude of 6.7 on Monday morning.

Daryono said that the epicenter of the earthquake was in the void zone of a large earthquake in the Northern Mentawai Islands. The last major earthquake in this zone was an earthquake with a magnitude of 8.5 which occurred 225 years ago, on February 10, 1797.