10th October, 2019
An earthquake with a magnitude of 5.2 rocked Indonesia’s eastern province of Maluku on Thursday at 11.39 a.m. Jakarta time (0439 GMT) but no clear sign for tsunami, Indonesia’s Meteorological, Climatology and Geophysics Agency (BMKG) said.
The epicentre of the earthquake with a depth of 10 km was 3.57 degrees South latitude and 128.26 East longitude, located 16 km northeast of the province capital, Ambon.
“Learning from the location and depth of the earthquake, it was a shallow one, caused by local fault activities. The earthquake was prompted by ground deformation movement due to strike-slip fault,’’ BMKG Head of Earthquake and Tsunami section, Rahmat Triyono, said.
He added tremors were significantly felt in Ambon at a scale of V MMI (Modified Mercalli Intensity). At least eight aftershocks were felt with the largest magnitude of 4.6 until the afternoon, he said.
No significant damage was reported in the latest earthquake.
“People are advised to remain calm, avoid fractured buildings or (those) damaged by the previous earthquakes. Residents are told to check the construction of the buildings to assure no crack could endanger them when they return to go inside,’’ he said.
A powerful earthquake at a magnitude of 6.5 on Sept. 26 in the province killed at least 39 people, injured some 1,570 others and forced over 150,000 to seek refuge in shelters.