Jakarta- The Indonesian Meteorological and Geophysical Agency warned that the first earthquake on Friday off the coast of Banten province, which measured 6.7 on the Richter scale, will pave the way for the possibility of a second earthquake that will have its focus in the same region, and its magnitude may reach 8.7.
These forecasts come despite the lack of a time estimate for the occurrence of a seismic fault in that region, and the lack of a scientific method or technique to determine the timing of any expected earthquake in a particular fault zone.
The authority’s statements came to say that the first earthquake on Friday is not what scientists were waiting for, and it is not the danger that they are talking about, according to historical and geological indicators of earthquakes and tsunamis in the area of the waters of the Sunda Strait, located between the islands of Java and Sumatra, the country’s most populous island, in which the Krakatau volcano occurred. .
Why this warning?
Perhaps the most prominent reasons that Indonesian meteorological experts talk about that prompt an earthquake in the Sunda Strait region – not far from the capital Jakarta – is that this region has not had an earthquake with a magnitude of more than 7 for decades, and the tectonic rift that passes through it stores energy that it is feared that Lead to cracks felt by millions of people, in several Indonesian provinces.
And if we review the history of the strong tremors that led to the tsunami waves to the east and west of the Sunda Strait, we will find that the last of them was the earthquake of the Pagandaran coasts in the central west of the island of Java in 2006 and its magnitude was 7.7 on the Richter scale, and to the west was the Bengkulu earthquake on the central western coast of the island of Sumatra in 2007 and with a strength of 8.5 on the Richter scale, both of which caused casualties and caused widespread destruction.
3 reasons for a tsunami
As for the Sunda Strait, where an earthquake occurred last Friday, a number of earthquakes occurred, followed by tsunamis in the years 1722, 1852, and 1958, meaning that the latter occurred 64 years ago, which is a long period on such scales, and the region was also exposed to other tsunamis from Another type due to volcanic activity of the famous Krakatau volcano, in the years 1883, 1928, and the last in 2018.
It is noteworthy that a third type of tsunami occurred in the strait, due to landslides or mountain landslides at the foot and bottom of the Krakatau volcano or other mountains in the strait, in the years 1851, 1883, and 1889.
The head of the Indonesian Meteorological and Geophysical Service, Dwikorita Karnawati, called on local government officials in various provinces, provinces and cities to be prepared for the threat of earthquakes and tsunamis with what they can prepare.
She said that during the past 30 days, the Meteorological Authority recorded an increase in earthquakes near Banten provinces and the adjacent coasts of West Java province, and the tremors reached eastern Java.
Earthquake without casualties
Local officials in Banten province have confirmed that more than 1,500 homes and buildings were destroyed or severely damaged by last Friday’s earthquake, including 14 clinics and 25 schools.
The epicenter of the quake was 200 km from the capital, Jakarta, and 52 km from the southwestern coast of Banten province.
The Indonesian authority has promised to deal with the effects of disasters by disbursing a compensation amount to those whose homes were destroyed or damaged, as hundreds lost their homes as a result of the earthquake, without causing any deaths.