TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - The Meteorology, Climatology, and Geophysics Agency's (BMKG's) Ambon Geophysics Station recorded that 19 aftershocks occurred in Maluku Province after a 7.5-magnitude (M) earthquake hit on Tuesday at 2:47 a.m. Eastern Indonesia Standard Time (WIT).

“According to BMKG’s monitoring, as of Wednesday, January 11, 2023, at 1 p.m. WIT, there were 19 aftershocks, with the smallest magnitude of 3.7 and the largest one of 5.7,” head of the geophysics station, Djati Cipto Kuncoro, stated on Wednesday.

Kuncoro said his side will continue to conduct monitoring and update information regarding the aftershocks and disseminate it to the public.

Hence, the community was appealed to remain calm and to not be influenced by false information.

Furthermore, the residents were urged to not take shelter in buildings that had developed cracks or had got damaged by the disaster.

Before returning to their homes, people were suggested to check and ensure that their houses were quite earthquake-resistant and there was no damage caused by the quake that harmed the stability of the buildings.

In addition, people were urged to only follow updates regarding the earthquake from BMKG, Regional Disaster Mitigation Agency (BPBD), military, police, and local government apparatus.

The BMKG noted that epicenter of the quake was located at 7.37 degrees South Latitude and 130.23 degrees East Longitude – or at sea at a distance of 136 km northwest of West Southeastern Maluku, Maluku, at a depth of 130 km.

The agency concluded that the earthquake occurred due to subduction activity in the Banda Sea.

Based on the hypocenter, it was classified as a medium quake, with an upward movement or thrust fault mechanism.

The BMKG had issued a tsunami early warning for residents of the provinces of Maluku and Southeast Sulawesi due to the disaster.

However, there were no significant changes in sea level, so the warning was called off.

Tanimbar Islands District and Southwest Maluku District in Maluku Province were the most affected areas due to the earthquake.

ANTARA

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