7.4M Earthquake, 2 Aftershocks Hit Banda Sea, Maluku

TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - A powerful earthquake with a magnitude of 7.4 struck off Southwest Maluku Regency on early Thursday, December 30. The tremor was measured at scale VI of the Modified Mercalli Intensity (MMI), causing residents to run outside.

With the high scale, it was considered a destructive earthquake for its capability to cause minor damages to buildings.

According to the Meteorology, Climatology, and Geophysics Agency (BMKG) data, the earthquake occurred at 1:25 a.m. Western Indonesian Time (WIB) or 3:35 local time. It was located at sea 45 kilometers northwest of Southwest Maluku and at a depth of 210 kilometers The strongest shock, MMI scale VI, was felt in Tiakur, the regency’s capital.

The tremor was also felt in Tepa, a village on Babar Island, Southwest Maluku at MMI scale V and in Saumlaki of Tanimbar Islands at MMI scale IV. A weaker intensity was recorded in Tual of Maluku Province at scale III and in Sorong and Raja Ampat of West Papua at scale II.

The agency also detected two aftershocks, measuring 5.2 and 5.1 magnitudes, at 02:21 and 03:32 WIB until this morning. Fortunately, the aftershocks were not felt on the surface.

BMKG’s quake and tsunami coordinator Daryono said an updated magnitude of the main quake to M7.3. The agency also did not detect a potential tsunami, presumably because of the depth of the quake, which he classified as was intermediate one.

“So that the rock deformation does not disturb the seawater column,” said Daryono via his Twitter social media account. He referred to it as Timor - Banda Sea Earthquake.

Read: Expert Says Thousands of Earthquakes Hit Indonesia Annually

ZACHARIAS WURAGIL