6.2M Earthquake Jolts Maluku Sea; Tremors Spread to Minahasa and Gorontalo

TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - A 6.2 magnitude earthquake shook Maluku in the early hours of Thursday, March 14, 2024. The tectonic shock detected at 01:56 am Jakarta time was located at 0.19 degrees south latitude and 125.26 degrees east longitude. 

Daryono, the head of the quake and tsunami center at the Meteorology, Climatology, and Geophysics Agency (BMKG), said the quake came from a depth of ten kilometers in the Maluku Sea

“It is centered in the sea, 123 kilometers southeast of Tutuyan City, North Sulawesi,” he said in a written statement on Thursday, March 14.

Looking at its epicenter and depth, it was a shallow quake caused by the subduction activity of the Maluku Sea Plate. “The quake had an oblique thrust movement mechanism,” he added.

The tremor was felt in the South Minahasa, Southeast Minahasa, and South Bolaang Mongondow areas with an intensity scale of III MMI. The people of Bolaang Mongondow, North Minahasa, North Gorontalo, Bone Bolango, and Gorontalo also felt the shaking at the intensity of II MMI.

Daryono further confirmed that the quake did not have the potential to trigger a tsunami.

As of 02.20 am, the BMKG recorded an aftershock at a magnitude of 4.9. 

Daryono called on the public to stay calm, not to be provoked by baseless issues, and to avoid cracked or damaged buildings.

IRSYAN HASYIM (CONTRIBUTOR)

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