“Earthquake of Magnitude 7.8 Triggers Potential Tsunami in South Pacific, BMKG Analysis”

Jakarta –

BMKG provides analysis regarding earthquakes of magnitude 7.8 in countries in the South Pacific region. This earthquake is said to trigger a potential tsunami.

Head of the BMKG Earthquake and Tsunami Center Daryono said the earthquake was triggered by activity outside the subduction zone. This activity occurred on the Australian plate southeast of New Caledonia.

“Taking into account the location of the epicenter and the depth of the hypocenter, the earthquake that occurred was a type of shallow earthquake due to activity in the outer rise (the source of the earthquake outside the subduction zone) is the Australian Plate southeast of New Caledonia,” Daryono told journalists, Friday (19/5/2023).

“The results of the analysis of the source mechanism show that this earthquake has a downward movement mechanism (normal fault) which is characteristic of the earthquake source mechanism in the outer rise zone due to the pulling force (extensionaltectonics,” he added.

Furthermore, Daryono stated that this earthquake was felt on Mare Island with a scale of III-IV MMI (felt by many people). This earthquake, he said, also triggered a small tsunami with a height of about 15 cm.

“However, the results of the analysis of tsunami modeling by BMKG show that this small tsunami will not affect Indonesian territory, so our people do not need to worry about the tsunami threat from the earthquake in the Loyalty Islands,” he explained.

Previously, an earthquake with a magnitude of 7.8 shook countries in the South Pacific region. The earthquake, centered at a depth of 38 kilometers, triggered a tsunami warning for several countries in the region, such as Vanuatu, Fiji and Kiribati.

As reported CNN and Reuters, Friday (19/5), a strong earthquake was reported to have shaken the area southeast of the Loyalty Islands, which are in New Caledonia, a French territory in the South Pacific. There have been no reports of casualties or damage from the earthquake.

The United States Geological Survey (US) or USGS said the strong earthquake was centered at a depth of 38 kilometers.

The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center (PTWC) stated a potential tsunami was released for the regions of Vanuatu, Fiji and New Caledonia.

The US National Tsunami Warning Center also released a tsunami warning for coasts within 1,000 kilometers of the epicenter, which is between Fiji, Vanuatu and New Caledonia.

See also video ‘Labuan Bajo Rocked by M 3.7 Earthquake’:

(azh/dhn)