Jakarta, IO – Frank Hoogerberts, a researcher from the Netherlands-based Solar System Geometry Survey (SSGEOS) forecast that Indonesia will be hit by magnitude 7 earthquake between March 6-7. This has stirred up Indonesia’s social media.
Frank said his prediction is based on records of atmospheric fluctuations recorded on February 21 by SSGEOS. “There may be some seismic events, above magnitude 6 in the first week of March,” Frank said in the video, reported Detik, Tuesday (7/3).
He said the seismic event will move from Japan to Indonesia. “From Kamchatka, the Kuril Islands and northern Japan, the Philippines then to Sulawesi, Halmahera, maybe even up to Banda Sea,” he said.
In response, the Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency (BMKG) researcher Marniati and Imanuela Indah Pertiwi explained that earthquakes cannot be predicted.
“BMKG as the government agency that monitors earthquake events in Indonesia has always informed the public that tectonic earthquakes cannot be predicted when and where they will. It should also be noted that the territory of Indonesia is prone to earthquakes,” they wrote in an article published on the agency’s website.
BMKG further explained that Indonesia is situated between three to four of the world’s major plates. The plates continue to move every second, as a result of the heat in the earth’s core moving the particles that make up the plates. “The timing of plate movement to release its energy cannot be predicted up to now.”