The Phenomenon Of Palu Air Is The Cause Of The Mysterious 'Village' In Sumenep

Sketches that support the flow of ground water around the location of the mysterious collision sound in Central Hamlet, Moncek Tengah Village, Lenteng District, Sumenep Regency, East Java Province. (ANTARA/HO-Badan Geological)

JAKARTA - The Geological Agency of the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources (ESDM) revealed the mysterious collision that occurred in Sumenep, East Java, due to the phenomenon of water hammers.

The Daily Executive of the Head of the Geological Agency of the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources, Hermansyah, explained that the effect of the water hammer occurred when the water flow suddenly experienced a sudden increase in water pressure in a channel and pressed the trapped air.

"High pressure waves moving backwards through the canal cause beats or vibrations, due to the process of increasing water pressure which may have come from earthquakes that are relatively small in strength," Hermansyah said as quoted by ANTARA, Tuesday, August 22.

The mechanism of the process originated from a trigger that caused an increase in water pressure.

The Geological Agency estimates that the trigger occurred due to an earthquake. The earthquake was a series of small earthquakes that occurred in a relatively short time in certain geographic areas.

Gempaswarm biasanya memiliki magnitudo yang rendah dan tidak memiliki gempa utama yang jelas sebagai penggeratan. Gempa itu sering terjadi dalam periode yang singkat dan bisa berlangsung dari beberapa jam hingga beberapa hari.

"Although earthquakes in their swarms are not too damaging, they can trigger concern, because even though the intensity is relatively low and the frequency is high or frequent," said Hermansyah.

The technical nature of rock is relatively good and generally has a lot of discontinuities in the form of layers and cracks that are spread randomly and one of them is thought to be at the scene.

However, he said, not all areas of water discontinuity are filled.

When the water experiences an increase in pressure due to the triggering vibration that is estimated from the earthquake and suppresses the air trapped in the field of discontinuity, there is a water hazard process or water hammer that gives rise to the sound of a knock.

"The mysterious sound is thought to come from the water hazard process from the source of the earthquake vibration, and the water hazard process is not dangerous on the ground," said Hermansyah.

"However, regionally, this mysterious voice can indicate the potential for active faults even though the position may not be in the Central Moncek area," he added.

On August 12, 2023, a mysterious boom occurred in Central Hamlet, Moncek Tengah Village, Lenteng District, Sumenep Regency, East Java Province.

The sound sounded like a collision from underground and accompanied by vibrations from 09.00 WIB to 11.00 WIB.

The voice had panicked residents because it had occurred for about ten days. The Geological Agency then conducted a field review to examine the cause of the booming sound.