TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - The Sianok segment, an active cesarean located in West Sumatra, reportedly has the potential to trigger powerful earthquakes that must be aware of as it may recur in the future.

“The public needs to know that tectonic earthquakes have a return period. Based on the theory, strong quakes can repeat from the same source,” said the Meteorology, Climatology, and Geophysics Agency (BMKG) head of quake and tsunami mitigation, Daryono, in Jakarta, Wednesday, July 1.

The study results of the Indonesian Center for Earthquake Studies (PusGen) revealed that the Sianok segment has a targeted magnitude of 7.4 with a cesarean shift of 14 millimeters per year.

If the source of the quake is credible, then the longer the period, the greater the quake will happen. “This means, the Sianok segment is pretty active. It has the potential to cause strong quakes that must be watched out for,” Daryono explained.

Padang Panjang city and its vicinity areas were jolted by a 4.5 magnitude quake on Tuesday, June 30, at 12:40 a.m. local times. Based on the epicenter and hypocenter, it was generated by the activity of the Sumatran fault, precisely in the Sianok segment.

Although the quake did not cause damage, it reminded the people of the devastating earthquake back on June 28, 1926, which was recorded up to 7.6 magnitude and caused hundreds of death tolls due to the same fault activity.

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ANTARA