The Regional Disaster Mitigation Agency (BPBD) of Malang District confirmed to not having received any reports of damage due to the earthquake that hit southwest of Lumajang District, East Java Province, on Saturday.
Head of the Emergency and Logistics Division of Malang District’s BPBD, Sadono Irawan, made the statement when contacted by ANTARA here on Saturday.
“Currently, we are still monitoring and waiting for information (on the damage) from the (officers in the) regions. There have been no reports of damage (so far),” he remarked.
An earthquake of magnitude 5.2 rattled the southern region of East Java Province at 3:27 a.m. Western Indonesian Standard Time (WIB, UTC+7).
The epicenter of the earthquake was located at 171 kilometers (km) southwest of Lumajang District, at a depth of 47 km.
Shocks of Modified Mercalli Intensity (MMI) II were reportedly sensed in several areas, including Karangkates Village and Kepanjen Sub-district in Malang District; Lumajang District; and Blitar District.
The MMI II quake can cause hanging light objects to sway, although the shock is only felt by several people.
Furthermore, an aftershock occurred at 5:50 a.m. WIB, with a magnitude of 5.0. It struck at 163 kilometers southwest of Lumajang District, at a depth of 10 km.
Another 5.3-magnitude quake hit at 9:53 a.m. WIB at depth of 10 km at 167 kilometers southwest of Lumajang District. It was felt in Pasirian Sub-district in Lumajang District, Kepanjen Village in Malang District, as well as Malang City.
Head of the Karangkates Malang Geophysics Station of the Meteorology, Climatology, and Geophysics Agency (BMKG), Mamuri, stated that considering the location and depth of the epicenter, the earthquake that struck the region at 3:27 a.m. WIB was a shallow quake.
“It was caused by subduction activity. The results of the analysis of the source mechanism showed that the earthquake had an oblique-thrust fault mechanism,” he remarked.
The disaster was reported to have no tsunami potential. The public is urged to remain calm and alert for aftershocks as well as not be influenced by false information.
Meanwhile, Krisna Ade, one of the residents in Malang City, stated that light-intensity vibrations caused by the quake, striking at 9:53 a.m. local time, were sensed and caused several objects to shake.
“The tremors did not last long. However, there were some objects that swayed,” he added.
Source: Antara News