TEMPO.CO, Bandung - Meteorology, Climatology, and Geophysics Agency (BMKG) recorded three aftershocks hit southern waters of Bali Province since Wednesday morning, July 24. The quake occurred until night and had higher magnitude at 5.2 on the Richter scale.

The head of Earthquake and Tsunami Early Warning Information, Daryono, said through a written statement that at 20:17 Western Indonesian Time a quake with magnitude 5.2 rocked the Indian Ocean, southern heaven island.

“This quake is located in megathrust zone, southern Bali,” he noted, adding that it was precisely at 10.57 degrees south latitude and 115.00 degrees east longitude, 198 kilometers southwest of Nusa Dua, at a depth of 10 kilometers.

The tectonic quake was categorized as a shallow one. Despite the epicenter location was far from the province and Lombok, some people in Lombok felt the tremor at II MMI level.

Earlier on the same day, the main quake hit at 09:29 Central Indonesian Time (WITA) with a magnitude 4.6 and at a depth of 71 kilometers, followed by 4.1 magnitude quake from 66-kilometer depth at 18:53 WITA.

According to Daryono, based on the hypocenter and source, the two were related to the strong quake of magnitude 6.0 occurred on July 16, 2019. “While the third aftershocks is the new one in the megathrust zone.”

Following public restless about whether the series of the quake is a sign of future megathrust, BMKG appealed to all to enhance vigilance and have no worries. “The activity of earthquake cannot be predicted on when, where, and how strong it will be,” Daryono asserted.

ANWAR SISWADI