Jakarta, IO – The Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency (BMKG) reports that as many as 806 earthquakes have rocked Jayapura, Papua, since a magnitude 4.9 earthquake that took place on January 2, 2023.
“Of the 806 earthquakes, 68 were quite strong and felt by the community,” BMKG wrote on its social media account.
An earthquake with the same strength was felt by the residents of Jayapura on Sunday (22/1). The epicenter was at 2.5° South Latitude and 140.71° East Longitude, or 13 km northeast of Jayapura at the depth of 10 km. Meanwhile, the latest earthquake with a weaker magnitude of 2.9 took place on Monday (23/1) at 2.17pm WIT.
BMKG explained that shallow earthquake tremor need to be watched out for but there is no need to panic. However, residents are worried because the frequent earthquakes could damage their property and endanger their lives. “These are small but frequent earthquakes, but after a while the house collapses,” said Leksi, a Jayapura resident who lives in Kotaraja, reported Kompas.
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According to him, even though earthquakes cannot be predicted, residents have the right to receive further explanation about what actually happened. This is necessary so they can anticipate the worst.
“At least BMKG gives an explanation of what this phenomenon actually is. If they don’t know when it will finish, at least inform the public about the worst risks so we can be better prepared,” he said. (bp)