The Jakarta-based Meteorology, Climatology, and Geophysics Agency (BMKG) reported that the first 5.2-magnitude earthquake rattled Yogyakarta at 2:50 a.m. local time.
The second earthquake, of magnitude 5.5, shook southwest of Banda Aceh, the capital of Aceh Province, at about 7:58 a.m. local time, while the third quake jolted northwest of Maluku Tenggara Barat District in Maluku Province at around 9:08 a.m. local time.
The agency revealed that the earthquake striking Yogyakarta was centered some 105 kilometers away from southwest of Bantul District, at a depth of 10 kilometers.
The tremors of this quake, triggering no tsunami, could not only be felt by the residents of Bantul District but also those living in areas, such as Purworejo and Wonogiri in Central Java, and Pacitan in East Java, according to the agency.
In the meantime, the epicenters of two other earthquakes were located at 121 kilometers away from Banda Aceh, at a depth of 10 kilometers, and at 151 kilometers away from the Maluku Tenggara Barat District, at a depth of 114 kilometers, the BMKG revealed.
Located 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.
Indonesia's earthquake zones spread from the islands of Sumatra, Java, Bali, Lombok, Flores, and Alor to the Banda Sea as well as the islands of Seram, Sulawesi, Maluku, and Papua.
In 2018, the BMKG recorded that Indonesia had borne the impact of 11,577 earthquakes, including several ones 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 merely 7,172 earthquakes were recorded in 2017.
Hence, it indicates that Indonesia had borne 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 time.
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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Reporter: Rahmad Nasution
Editor: Fardah Assegaf
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