A magnitude 6.5 earthquake struck near Jakarta’s Thousand Islands (Kepulauan Seribu) early on Saturday, with tremors felt in the Indonesian capital and across parts of Java and Sumatra. Indonesia’s Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency (BMKG) reported no tsunami threat.
BMKG Earthquake and Tsunami Director Dr. Wijayanto said the quake struck at 4.23am local time and that the magnitude was revised up from an initial 5.9 after further analysis — which accounts for the differing figures carried in early reports.
The epicentre was in the Java Sea, 69km northeast of the Thousand Islands, at a depth of 368km. “Taking into account the location of the epicentre and the depth of its hypocentre, the earthquake was a deep earthquake caused by intraslab activity,” Wijayanto said in a statement, adding that tsunami modelling showed no threat.
Where it was felt
The strongest shaking was reported in parts of Banten and West Java, and in Tanggamus in southern Sumatra, where it was perceptible indoors and strong enough to rattle windows and doors. Tremors were also clearly felt indoors in Jakarta’s Tanjung Priok, with weaker shaking as far away as Yogyakarta and Malang in Java, and Padang and the Mentawai Islands in western Sumatra.
Some of the strongest tremors were felt in Pandeglang in Banten, near the Sunda Strait and the Anak Krakatau volcano, which resumed eruptive activity last week. Wijayanto said Saturday’s earthquake was tectonic in origin and unrelated, with BMKG reporting no aftershocks as of 5am.
KAI Commuter suspended Commuter Line services for track inspections. The Bogor, Cikarang, Rangkasbitung and Tanjung Priok lines resumed at 5.26am and the Tangerang line at 5.45am.
The quake came less than 10 hours after a magnitude 6.0 quake in the Banda Sea at 6pm on Friday, at a depth of 148km with an epicentre 162km northeast of Southwest Maluku.
Still not reported
The report carries no casualty figures or damage assessment, and no statement from Indonesia’s disaster management agency. Daily Mirror credits the account to The Malaysian Reserve; no other verified newsroom had filed on the quake at the time of writing.
