The total number of aftershocks was recorded from Sunday morning to midnight, Head of the agency's Earthquake and Tsunami Division, Bambang S. Prayitno, noted in a statement that ANTARA quoted here, Tuesday.
The 5.3-magnitude earthquake's epicenter was monitored at 0.58 degrees south latitude and 131.57 degrees east longitude. The quake struck at a depth of 32 kilometers and about 46 kilometers away from Sorong City, the agency reported.
Taking into account its epicenter and hypocenter, the quake was categorized as a shallow one owing to "local fault", according to Prayitno.
Various parts of West Papua are prone to earthquakes, as the BMKG-Sorong Office recorded 1,040 earthquakes in the province in 2020, ANTARA reported earlier.
Sorong District is vulnerable to earthquakes, as it lies on the Circum-Pacific Belt, also known as the Ring of Fire.
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Its vulnerability is also a result of the "Sorong fault," which runs through the fault zone in Sulawesi Island that had triggered the Palu and Majene earthquakes.
Sorong District has repeatedly been rocked by strong earthquakes over the past decades. In 2009, for instance, a 7.9-magnitude earthquake jolted Manokwari District and triggered a tsunami in Ransiki Town.
On September 26, 2015, a 6.0-magnitude earthquake jolted Sorong District's Tanjung Kasuari.
Earthquakes regularly strike various parts of Indonesia since the country lies on the Circum-Pacific Belt, where several tectonic plates meet and cause frequent volcanic and seismic activity.
This year, a deadly earthquake that rattled Indonesia occurred in West Sulawesi Province on January 15.
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The 6.2-magnitude earthquake, ensued by several aftershocks, jolted the districts of Mamuju and Majene, claiming more than 100 lives and destroying several buildings.
Apart from those above earthquakes, Indonesia had also experienced the most catastrophic earthquake and tsunami in Aceh Province on the northernmost tip of Sumatra Island on December 26, 2004.
The catastrophe that also affected certain coastal areas in countries, such as Thailand, Sri Lanka, and India, reportedly killed some 230 thousand people.
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Translator: Ernes BK, Rahmad Nasution
Editor: Fardah Assegaf
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