Tsunami Warning in Tarakan Ends, BMKG: Wave Height Only 30 cm

The Meteorology, Climatology, and Geophysics Agency (BMKG) for Tarakan City, North Kalimantan, has officially ended the early tsunami warning for the Tarakan region following a 7.7 magnitude tectonic earthquake in Mindanao, Philippines, on Monday morning.

“The early tsunami warning issued this morning at 11:15 WITA has officially been terminated,” stated the Head of BMKG Tarakan, M. Sulam Khilmi, on Monday afternoon. With the end of the warning, he noted that the public is permitted to resume their regular activities.

Sulam Khilmi explained that while there was potential for tsunami activity in several areas of North Kalimantan, including Tarakan, the predicted wave height was only between 0 to 0.5 metres, specifically reaching a maximum of 50 centimetres. He urged the public not to believe news reports claiming high waves had hit the North Kalimantan coast, as such events did not occur, noting that North Kalimantan is approximately 200 kilometres away from the earthquake’s epicentre.

He further clarified that while some tsunami waves were recorded in parts of East and North Kalimantan, they were at the lowest possible level. “Tsunami waves occur at various levels, and in North Kalimantan, it was at the lowest level, under one metre—specifically, only 30 centimetres were recorded at Amal Beach,” he said.

“Therefore, I ask the community not to panic or be afraid, as the period of crisis has passed. The monitored wave height was only 30 centimetres,” he added.

The Head of the Tarakan SAR Office, Syahril, stated that following the end of the warning, search and rescue personnel have returned to their headquarters while remaining on standby. “We have concluded our field duties and returned to the office. However, we continue to monitor developments from BMKG; if there is any new information regarding earthquakes or tsunami warnings, we will immediately redeploy to the field,” he said.