TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - The Earthquake Center of the Meteorology, Climatology, and Geophysics Agency (BMKG) Medan Office has recorded 27 earthquakes that occurred in the Indonesian provinces of Aceh and North Sumatra in the fourth week of December 2021.

"Towards Christmas 2021 and New Year 2022, the BMKG recorded 27 earthquakes in North Sumatra and Aceh between December 17 and December 23," the agency's researcher, Marzuki Sinambela, said in Medan, the capital of North Sumatra Province, on Sunday.

The seismic activities in Aceh and North Sumatra in the fourth week of December 2021 occurred in the Megathrust Zone and some of them were spread over several areas of the Sumatran Fault segment.

Based on records for a week in Aceh and North Sumatra, there had been 23 earthquakes with a small magnitude scale or below magnitude 4.0, and four others with magnitudes of between 4.0 and 5.0, he said.

Referring to the depth of seismic activities during the week, the agency recorded 24 shallow earthquakes under 60 km, and three earthquakes at depths between 60 and 300 km, he said.

Meanwhile, the agency's analyst, Endah Puspita Sari, explained that during the past week, there were 18 earthquakes that occurred on land and nine others at sea.

"Of the 27 earthquakes, three of them are significant because the tremors can be felt by residents. They are the earthquakes that rattled the areas of Gunung Sitoli and West Nias (in North Sumatra), as well as in Takengon (Aceh)," she said.

"The BMKG urges the people at large to remain vigilant and stay calm. They are also advised to respond quickly to BMKG information, and to keep their distance if an earthquake occurs during the COVID-19 pandemic," Sari said.

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