5.1M Earthquake Jolts NTT's Malaka; Aftershock Detected

TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - The Meteorology, Climatology, and Geophysics Agency or BMKG reported a tectonic earthquake with an updated magnitude of 5.1 hitting the southeastern beach of Malaka, NTT, on Tuesday, Feb. 27, 2024, at 11:49 a.m. WIB (Western Indonesia Time).

The epicenter was located at 9.85 degrees of Southern Latitude and 125.05 degrees of Longitude East, or 20 kilometers away from the southeastern part of West Malaka at a 10-kilometer depth at sea.

“By considering the epicenter and the hypocenter, the earthquake was shallow and caused by a seabed active fault activity,” said the head of the earthquake and tsunami center at BMKG in a written statement.

"Analysis shows that this earthquake was generated by rock deformation with thrust fault movement mechanism," he added.

This earthquake was felt in Malaka with an intensity scale of III MMI, akin to trucks passing by. Modeling results showed that this earthquake did not have the potential for a tsunami.

As of 12:15 p.m. WIB, BMKG monitoring results showed that there was one aftershock activity with a 4.1 magnitude.

BMKG urged citizens affected to remain calm and vigilant. Residents are also asked to avoid damaged buildings.

ERWIN PRIMA

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