“The tsunami was detected at the tsunami gauge at Sarmi Port, Papua, at 19 centimeters,” Director of Earthquake and Tsunami at the BMKG Daryono informed on Wednesday.
This confirmed that tsunami waves triggered by a powerful earthquake off the Russian coast had reached Indonesia, he said.
The agency then called for alerting coastal communities, particularly those in Papua, West Papua, North Maluku, North Sulawesi, and Gorontalo, which were previously issued tsunami warnings.
He urged the public to avoid coastal areas until the BMKG officially lifts the tsunami early warnings.
According to the BMKG’s forecast, the first tsunami wave may not be the strongest, but the public must maintain a safe radius of at least one kilometer from the coast until the alert is lifted.
Earlier, the agency issued a tsunami alert for 10 regions in eastern Indonesia, with wave heights estimated to be below 50 centimeters. The estimated time of arrival of the tsunami waves in Sarmi was 4:30 p.m. Eastern Indonesian Time.
Related news: Low tsunami waves can still be deadly: BNPB after Russia quake
Tsunami and sea level gauges in the Pacific recorded different wave heights, such as 39 cm in Kusiro, Japan; 31 cm in Hanasaki, Japan; and 84 cm in Kamchatka, Russia.
The BMKG is coordinating with the National Disaster Mitigation Agency (BNPB), local authorities, Indonesian Defense Forces (TNI), and National Police (Polri) to ensure the public is informed and evacuated from the coast until the situation is declared safe.
The BMKG’s earthquake and tsunami monitoring team reported that the epicenter of the quake that triggered tsunamis across the Pacific, including in Indonesia, was located at 52.51 degrees North latitude and 160.26 degrees East longitude, at a depth of 18 kilometers.
It was caused by plate subduction, characterized by a thrust fault mechanism, in the Kurile-Kamchatka Trench.
As of Wednesday morning, the BMKG detected seven aftershocks, with the largest measuring 6.9 in magnitude and the smallest 5.4.
According to the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center (PTWC), the earthquake also had the potential to trigger tsunamis in Russia, Japan, Alaska, the Philippines, Hawaii, and Guam.
Related news: Government readies evacuation steps amid tsunami warning: Minister
Translator: M. Riezko Bima, Resinta Sulistiyandari
Editor: Rahmad Nasution
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