"This earthquake struck directly within the city of Sumedang and was triggered by an active fault that has not been mapped," Head of the BMKG Earthquake and Tsunami Center, Daryono, stated in a press conference on the agency's YouTube channel accessed on Monday.
He remarked that the earthquake requires serious attention and encouraged the BMKG to study uncharted earthquake-active fault points to minimize the number of casualties.
The Cianjur earthquake in 2022, for example, originated from a previously unidentified fault line, he said.
"The charted faults are far from the Sumedang city center, so these fault activities need our attention to anticipate future development planning in Sumedang," Daryono stated.
He explained that shallow earthquakes, as observed in Sumedang, are quite dangerous if their epicenters fall within densely populated areas with non-earthquake-resistant buildings.
"The depth (of the earthquake) was very shallow, and the problem is that many houses built could not withstand earthquakes," he remarked.
Hence, he appealed to the public to pay attention to the earthquake resistance quality while planning buildings, given the fact that the area is prone to medium to high earthquakes.
"In the future, the Sumedang area needs to have earthquake-resistant houses and appropriate references in the event of a major earthquake. In this case, earthquake-resistant houses are a safe solution during an earthquake," Daryono stated.
The BMKG recorded three shallow earthquakes in Sumedang on New Year's Eve.
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Translator: Rubby P, Kenzu
Editor: Anton Santoso
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