M5.2 Earthquake Jolts Papua's Sarmi, BMKG Records 51 Aftershocks
Reporter
October 17, 2025 | 11:02 am
TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - A 5.2 magnitude earthquake struck off the northeastern coast of Sarmi, Papua, early Friday, October 17, 2025. The Meteorology, Climatology, and Geophysics Agency (BMKG) has ensured there are no tsunami threats triggered by the quake detected just 2 minutes after midnight.
The Director of Earthquake and Tsunami at BMKG, Daryono, said the earthquake's epicenter was approximately 50 kilometers southeast of Sarmi, Papua, with a depth of 14 kilometers. "This is a shallow earthquake due to the activity of the Mamberamo Thrust Fault," said Daryono in a written statement shortly after the disaster.
He added that the analysis of the source mechanism indicates that this earthquake has an oblique thrust fault mechanism. Referring to the BMKG's shaking map, the earthquake was felt in the city of Sarmi with an intensity scale of III MMI, meaning that the tremors were clearly felt from inside the houses. "The vibrations felt akin to a truck passing by," he said. There have been no reports of damage caused by the event.
The BMKG team also reported that this event is part of a series of aftershocks following a major 6.6 magnitude earthquake that occurred in the Sarmi Regency on Thursday afternoon. "Until 12:20 a.m. Western Indonesia Time (early Friday), BMKG monitoring results showed 51 aftershock events, with the largest magnitude being 5.1 and the smallest 2.6," said Daryono.
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