Earthquakes In Southeast Halmahera Utara Caused By Rock Deformation

JAKARTA - Head of the Earthquake and Tsunami Center of the Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency (BMKG) Daryono said that the earthquake that occurred on Sunday at 15.21 WIB in the southeast of North Halmahera, North Maluku, was caused by rock deformation in the Maluku Sea Plate slab.

BMKG initially reported that the earthquake, which was centered at coordinates 1.37 North Latitude and 128.00 East Longitude, was about 19 km southeast of North Halmahera, at a depth of 120 km, had a magnitude of 5.2 but then updated its parameters to 4.9.

Daryono said that the earthquake was classified as an intermediate earthquake and according to the results of the analysis, the source mechanism had a downward horizontal movement mechanism.

"The modeling results show that this earthquake has no potential for a tsunami," he said.

According to him, the earthquake was felt in the East Halmahera area on the MMI II intensity scale, the vibration was felt by several people and caused light objects that were hung to sway.

"Until now, there have been no reports of damage caused by the earthquake," he said.

Based on BMKG monitoring, he said, until Sunday at 15.45 WIB there was no aftershock activity after the earthquake that occurred at 15.21 WIB.

Residents in the area around the epicenter are advised to avoid buildings that are cracked or damaged by the earthquake and inspect residential buildings to ensure that no damage can endanger the stability of the building before returning to their homes.