A 4.8-magnitude earthquake hit Pegunungan Arfak District, West Papua Province, on Saturday evening, the Meteorology, Climatology, and Geophysics Agency (BMKG) reported.
There were no immediate reports of casualties or damage following the quake with its epicenter located seven kilometers northwest of Pegunungan Arfak at a depth of 12 kilometers.
According to the agency, the tremor of the quake that jolted the district’s area at 10:17 p.m. Western Indonesia Time (WIB) was recorded at scale III of the Modified Mercalli Intensity (MMI).
The tremor was felt by those living in Manokwari. A quake of MMI III could be felt indoors akin to the movement of a truck.
Pegunungan Arfak District has frequently been rocked by earthquakes. On March 23, 2022, for instance, a 5.1-magnitude earthquake struck the district’s area.
The tremor was felt by those living in the districts of Manokwari, Manokwari Selatan, and Tambrauw.
Another district in the Indonesian province of West Papua which is vulnerable to earthquakes is Sorong because it lies on the Circum-Pacific Belt, also known as the Ring of Fire.
Its vulnerability is also a result of the “Sorong fault” that runs through the fault zone in Sulawesi Island, which triggered the Palu and Majene earthquakes.
Sorong District has repeatedly been rocked by strong earthquakes over the past decades. In 2009, a 7.9-magnitude earthquake jolted Manokwari District and triggered a tsunami in Ransiki Town.
On September 26, 2015, a 6.0-magnitude earthquake jolted Sorong District’s Tanjung Kasuari.
Indonesia had ever experienced the deadliest earthquake in Aceh Province on December 26, 2004. The quake, followed by tsunami, killed 230 thousand people.
The catastrophe also affected certain coastal areas in countries, such as Thailand, Sri Lanka, and India. On January 15, 2021, another deadly earthquake again shocked Indonesians.
The 6.2-magnitude earthquake, ensued by several aftershocks, jolted the districts of Mamuju and Majene in West Sulawesi Province, claiming more than 100 lives and destroyed several buildings.
Source: Antara News