The quake was epicentered about 107 kilometers away from the southwest part of Pacitan District, at a depth of 63 kilometers, the Meteorology, Climatology, and Geophysics Agency (BMKG) reported.
Situated on the Circum-Pacific Belt, also known as the Ring of Fire, the meeting points of several tectonic plates where frequent volcanic and seismic activities occur, Indonesia is susceptible to natural disasters, including earthquakes and volcanic eruptions.
In 2018, the BMKG recorded that Indonesia had borne the impact of 11,577 earthquakes, including several causing major casualties, with the figure notably increasing from that in 2017.
The BMKG data indicated that 11,577 earthquakes, with varying magnitudes and depths, hit in 2018, while just 7,172 earthquakes were recorded in 2017.
This indicates that Indonesia bore witness to a significant rise in the number of tectonic earthquakes in 2018.
Several earthquake-related events that hit Indonesia in 2018, including the liquefaction in Palu, a tsunami that struck prior to the issuance of a tsunami warning in Palu, and the Sunda Strait Tsunami, had occurred for the first.
In 2004, Indonesia had also borne the brunt of a major catastrophe that claimed hundred thousand lives in Banda Aceh and impacted several other parts of Aceh Province after the areas were rattled by a deadly tsunami following a powerful earthquake.
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Translator: Benardy F, Rahmad Nasution
Editor: Fardah Assegaf
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