West Halmahera Hit By M 5.6 Earthquake, BMKG Reports
Translator
Ricky Mohammad Nugraha
Editor
Petir Garda Bhwana
Senin, 9 Mei 2022 11:00 WIB
Map of the epicenter of the 5.6 magnitude earthquake that occurred about 72 kilometers northwest of West Halmahera, North Maluku, on Monday morning 9 May 2022. The strongest shock on the MMI IV scale could be felt in the Ibu District area. (ANTARA/Gilang Galiartha)
TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - The Meteorology, Climatology, and Geophysics Agency (BMKG) on Monday announced that the North Maluku region of West Halmahera had been hit by a magnitude 5.6 earthquake at 04:51 Western Indonesia Time (WIB) which had its epicenter 46 kilometers northwest off the coast of Loloda.
According to the agency’s head of the earthquake and tsunami center, Bambang Setiyo Prayitno, the quake’s 50-kilometer hypocenter is considered to be a shallow quake caused by deformation within the subduction zone.
“Based on our modeling, this earthquake does not have the potential of causing a tsunami,” he wrote.
In a number of regions in the sub-regency of Ibu and Loloda, the earthquake was measured at IV on the MMI scale. This quake took place as the region's Mount Ibu is currently most active and is placed on level alert.
This marks the second quake of the day as the agency also reported a slightly weak magnitude 2.3 quake taking place at Padang Cermin in the Regency of Pesawaran Lampung just past midnight.
