M 5.8 Earthquake In Makassar Strait Due To Active Fault Activity On Mamuju Beach

Illustration of an earthquake. (Pixabay)

JAKARTA - The Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency (BMKG) revealed that the earthquake in the Makassar Strait this afternoon was caused by active fault activity off Mamuju Beach, West Sulawesi.

The earthquake with a magnitude (M) of 5.8 shook the Makassar Strait on Wednesday, June 8, at 12.32 WIB

"By taking into account the location of the epicenter and the depth of the hypocenter, the earthquake that occurred was a shallow earthquake due to active fault activity off Mamuju Beach," said Head of the BMKG Earthquake and Tsunami Center Bambang Setiyo Prayitno in a written statement, Wednesday, June 8.

He explained that the epicenter of the earthquake was at coordinates 2.77° South Latitude; 118.56° East Longitude, or to be precise, it is located in the sea at a distance of 26 km to the west of West Tapalang, Mamuju, West Sulawesi at a depth of 10 km.

Bambang said the results of the analysis of the source mechanism showed that the earthquake had a strike-slip movement mechanism.

This earthquake caused damage to a number of buildings in Mamuju with an intensity scale of V MMI (vibration felt by almost all residents, many people woke up), the Majene area with an intensity scale of IV MMI (when many people felt it in the house during the day), Pinrang area with an intensity scale of III MMI (the vibration is felt in the house. The vibration is felt as if a truck is passing).

Then, the Palopo area with an intensity scale of II MMI (vibration felt by several people, light objects that were hung swayed), the Palu area with an intensity scale of II - III MMI (vibration felt by several people, light objects that were hung swayed), Paser area with an intensity scale of II - III MMI (vibration felt real in the house. The vibration felt as if a truck was passing by).

Lalua, Samarinda area with intensity scale II - III MMI, Sidrap area with intensity scale II MMI, Pangkep area with intensity scale II MMI, Makassar area with intensity scale II MMI, and Masamba area with intensity scale II MMI.

According to him, the modeling results show that this earthquake has no potential for a tsunami.

"Until 13:25 WIB, the results of BMKG monitoring showed that there was 1 (one) aftershock activity with M2.8," he said.

BMKG appealed to the public to remain calm and not be influenced by issues that cannot be justified. In order to avoid cracked or damaged buildings caused by the earthquake.

In addition, check and make sure the building where you live is earthquake-resistant enough, or there is no damage due to earthquake vibrations that endanger the stability of the building before returning to the house.