Strong Earthquake in Alaska; BMKG: No Tsunami Warning in Indonesia

TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - The Meteorology, Climatology, and Geophysics Agency (BMKG) confirmed that the 8.1-magnitude tectonic earthquake in Alaska did not trigger a tsunami in Indonesian territory. The quake struck off the coast of the Alaska Peninsula on Thursday afternoon, July 29, at 13:15 WIB (Western Indonesian Time), or Wednesday night local time.

According to the BMKG, a tsunami–if it occurs–will reach Indonesian territory 12 hours after the quake. However, the meteorology agency via its Instagram account announced Thursday night, “Based on the results of the tsunami modeling, this quake does not have the potential to generate a tsunami in Indonesian territory, so BMKG does not issue a tsunami early warning.”

It explained there were three aftershocks as of 16:00 WIB, measuring 6.3 M, 5.8 M, and 4.9 M, or getting weaker. The agency appealed to Indonesian citizens to remain calm and not be influenced by baseless issues.

The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center (PTWC) had also lifted the tsunami warnings issued for Hawaii and Guam since there was no significant rise in the sea level. Japan’s public broadcaster NHK also said there was no risk to the country. Authorities in New Zealand said they did not predict any flooding in coastal areas due to Alaska’s powerful earthquake.

Read: BMKG Announces System Error in Earthquake and Tsunami SMS Alert

ZACHARIAS WURAGIL