4.9M Earthquake Hits Maluku's Banda Sea, BMKG Reports

TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - The Meteorology, Climatology, and Geophysics Agency or BMKG reported that a tectonic earthquake shook the Banda Sea area in Maluku’s Tanimbar Islands on Monday, April 22, 2024, at 12:34 p.m. WIB (Western Indonesia Time).

The results of BMKG analysis show that this earthquake has updated parameters of 4.9 magnitude. The quake’s epicenter was located at 6.33 degrees Southern Latitude and 130.86 degrees Longitude East at sea, 83 kilometers northwest of Molu Maru, Tanimbar Islands, Maluku at 118-kilometer depth.

"Considering the location of the epicenter and the depth of the hypocenter, the earthquake that occurred was categorized as medium earthquake, caused by rock deformation activity in the Banda Plate slab (intraslab earthquake)," BMKG Head of Earthquake and Tsunami Centre Daryono said in his statement on Monday.

"The results of the source mechanism analysis show that the earthquake had a strike-slip fault mechanism," he added.

Based on the shakemap estimation, this earthquake caused shaking in the Molu Maru, Wer Maktian, and Wuar Labobar sub-districts in the Tanimbar Islands with an intensity scale of II - III MMI, akin to trucks passing by.

Thus far, there have been no reports of damage caused by the earthquake. Modeling results show that this earthquake has no tsunami potential. BMKG also records no aftershocks as of 12:55 p.m.

ERWIN PRIMA

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