Magnitude 4.9 Magnitude Tectonic Earthquake Shakes Banda Sea

Earthquake illustration (Photo: Doc. Antara)

JAKARTA - The Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency (BMKG) said that tectonic earthquakes occurred in the Banda Sea in the Maluku Province on Friday at 09.00 WIB.

BMKG originally said that the earthquake had a magnitude of 5.1 and then updated it to 4.9.

According to the Head of the BMKG Earthquake and Tsunami Center, Daryono, the epicenter of the earthquake was at sea at a depth of 166 km at coordinates 6.92 South Latitude and 129.66 East Longitude, approximately 211 km northwest of Tanimbar.

"By paying attention to the location of the epicenter and the depth of the hypocenter, the earthquake that occurred was a medium earthquake due to the subduction activity of the Banda Sea," he said, quoting Antara.

He said the results of the analysis of the source mechanism showed that the earthquake had an upward movement mechanism.

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

Daryono said that the earthquake was felt on the islands of Babar on the II-III Modified Mercally Intensity (MMI) intensity scale.

The tremors on the MMI scale II were felt by several people and caused light objects that were hung to sway, and on the MMI scale III the vibrations were felt real inside the house, felt as if a truck had passed.

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

According to the results of BMKG monitoring, he said, until 09.17 WIB there was no aftershock activity after the earthquake that occurred at 09.00 WIB.

However, he appealed to residents to avoid buildings that were cracked or damaged by the earthquake and to check the condition of residential buildings to ensure that no damage could endanger the stability of the building before returning to the house.