BMKG Makassar Denies Large Earthquake Forecast In Sulawesi

MAKASSAR - The Meteorology, Climatology, and Geophysics Agency (BMKG) Region IV Makassar has denied the seismic forecast from the Netherlands Frank Hoogerbeets which said there would be a major earthquake in three regions of Indonesia, especially Sulawesi Island.

BMKG Region IV Makassar BMKG Observation Coordinator Jamroni said the information circulating widely on Indonesian social media regarding the predictions of the Dutch seismic expert still needed an in-depth study including the method used.

"We do not accept earthquakes with predictions like that and if it happened today or tomorrow, the important thing is we can survive when there is an earthquake," he said as reported by ANTARA, Friday, March 3.

Jamroni said that Frank Hoogerbeets' prediction was precise when a large earthquake shook Turkey, which made many parties from around the world pay attention to this prediction.

He also gave an overview of when an earthquake with a magnitude of 6.2 occurred in Mamuju, West Sulawesi (Sulbar), in 2020. At that time, he said, many buildings were damaged, but not the building of the Mamuju BMKG office.

"We saw that during the earthquake in Mamuju, the building at the West Sulawesi Governor's Office collapsed on the roof, but the BMKG building, which is located approximately 300 meters away, is safe and does not have the slightest crack because it was built and designed according to earthquake-resistant building criteria," he said.

Previously, Frank Hoogerbeets predicted that an earthquake with a magnitude of 8 would occur in three regions of Indonesia, one of which is Sulawesi Island.

"Sulawesi, Halmahera. Maybe the Banda Sea, Indonesia," said the Dutch researcher at the Solar System Geometry Survey (SSGS).

The magnitude 8 earthquake is predicted to occur in these three areas due to the convergence of geometers on critical planets driving earthquakes around March 3-7 2023.

According to Jamroni, the basis of Hoogerbeets conveying his prediction was that from Kamchatka, the border region of Russia and Japan in the north, then on to the Philippines and also marking Sulawesi, Halmahera, maybe even the Banda Sea, Indonesia, the journey is very long.

"That's a long distance, it's a long way from Kamatcha to Sulawesi Island in Indonesia. It's about 7,000 kilometers long and if you go by plane it takes 18 hours. For us it's very far," he said.