BMKG Issues Tsunami Early Warning Following 7.7 Magnitude Earthquake in Celebes Sea

Jakarta (ANTARA) - The Indonesian Agency for Meteorology, Climatology, and Geophysics (BMKG) has issued a tsunami early warning following a 7.7 magnitude tectonic earthquake that struck the Celebes Sea on Monday morning at 06:37 WIB.

BMKG Head Teuku Faisal Fathani, speaking during a virtual press conference in Jakarta on Monday, stated that the earthquake’s epicentre was located at a depth of 47 kilometres northwest of Karatung Island, North Sulawesi (Mindanao sector, Philippines). The tremor has the potential to trigger tsunami waves across several coastal regions of Indonesia.

“BMKG has issued an updated tsunami early warning for the coastal areas of North Sulawesi, Gorontalo, Central Sulawesi, and North Maluku, including East Kalimantan,” he said.

He detailed several areas placed under ‘Siaga’ (Alert) status, including Manado, North Minahasa, South Minahasa, Buol, Sangihe Islands, Gorontalo, Sitaro Islands, Minahasa Islands, Toli-Toli, Palu City, Donggala, Ternate City, and Bitung City.

Meanwhile, regions under ‘Waspada’ (Watch) status include Tidore City, Bulungan, Nunukan, Halmahera, Tarakan City, North Halmahera, East Kutai, Bontang City, and Berau.

Regarding the designation of these statuses, BMKG has issued strict recommendations for residents in affected areas to carry out immediate self-evacuation according to the level of threat.

“The recommendation for areas under ‘Siaga’ status is for the public to immediately move away from the coast towards safer, higher ground. For those under ‘Waspada’ status, it is expected that people stay away from the coast and refrain from any activities near the shoreline or riverbanks,” he added.

As of 07:11 WIB, monitoring by BMKG’s Indonesia Tsunami Early Warning System (InaTEWS) indicated that two significant aftershocks, measuring 6.7 and 5.9 magnitude respectively, have already occurred.