PORTALJABAR, BANDUNG CITY - An earthquake with a magnitude of 4.8 rocked Sumedang and its surroundings on Sunday (31/12/2023) evening. The shaking was even felt in Bandung, Subang, Garut, Cirebon and several other areas in West Java.

Based on official information from the Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency (BMKG), the location of the earthquake was at coordinates 6.85 degrees South Latitude (LS) and 107.94 degrees East Longitude (BT). This earthquake had a depth of 5 kilometers. Meanwhile, the epicenter of the earthquake was 2 kilometers northeast, Sumedang Regency, West Java.

BMKG also noted that earthquakes had rocked the Sumedang area four times on December 31 2023.

The first earthquake occurred at 14.35 WIB with a strength of M 4.1 and a depth of 7 kilometers. The epicenter of the earthquake was 1 kilometer northeast of Sumedang Regency.

Then the second earthquake occurred at 15.38 WIB with a strength of M 3.4 and a depth of 6 kilometers. Meanwhile, the epicenter of the earthquake was 1 kilometer northeast of Sumedang Regency.

Then a third earthquake with a strength of M 4.8 occurred at 20.34 WIB.

An aftershock occurred again in Sumedang Regency Monday (1/1/2024) at 20.46 WIB with a strength of M 4.5 and a depth of 10 kilometers. The epicenter of the earthquake was located 4 kilometers north of Sumedang Regency.

It is known that due to the series of earthquakes that occurred, hundreds of buildings in Sumedang Regency were damaged. Acting Regent of Sumedang, Herman Suryatman, said that around 138 housing units were slightly damaged and 100 housing units were heavily damaged. In fact, Sumedang Regional Hospital was one of the buildings affected by the earthquake. So hundreds of patients had to be evacuated.

Based on official information from the Center for Volcanology and Disaster Mitigation of the Geological Agency (PVMBG), the earthquake is thought to have occurred due to the activity of the Cileunyi-Tanjungsari Fault.

Dean of the Faculty of Earth Science and Technology, Bandung Institute of Technology (ITB), Dr. Irwan Meilano, ST, M.Sc., also confirmed the statement from PVMBG. According to him, there is a possibility that the earthquake could be triggered by the movement of the active fault.

“I agree with what has been conveyed by the Geological Agency. There is a possibility that there is an earthquake source there, namely activity from the Cileunyi-Tanjungsari Fault. However, it still needs to be searched for details. "Both the parameters of the earthquake source, its length, level of activity, maximum magnitude, and so on," he said when contacted Monday (1/1/2024).

In Indonesia itself, there are various institutions that are members of the National Earthquake Study Center (Pusgen), ITB is also one of them. Irwan stated that ITB, together with several other related institutions, would jointly look for parameters from new earthquake sources, to identify in more detail the earthquake that occurred in Sumedang.

"Learning from the earthquake that occurred in Sumedang, we will look for more detailed parameters. It is possible that later they will be included in the sources of new earthquakes that occur in Indonesia," he said.

Apart from that, another thing that he said is of concern is that the strength of the earthquake is not too big, but it can cause significant damage.

"There are three things that are of concern, firstly, it turns out that there is an earthquake source that is not too big in magnitude, but it turns out to be quite shallow in depth. Second, what are the characteristics of the soil layer in West Java which has various volcanic products, so it can increase earthquake shocks," he said

"This is what makes an earthquake with a small strength but the shaking feels hard on the surface," he added.

Then the third is the geographical condition of the area in Sumedang and its surroundings which has a large population and is crowded with buildings, so it could potentially cause a lot of damage when a disaster occurs.

Therefore, Irwan asked the public to be aware of the potential for earthquake disasters, which even though their strength is not very large, can still cause damage.

"This is something that needs to be a lesson, especially for people in West Java. Because we also had a similar incident, namely the Cianjur earthquake in November last year. Even though the strength was different, it still caused significant damage," he said.

The public is also advised to increase their preparedness and awareness of aftershocks and other potential disasters.

Don't forget to continue following instructions from the government, agencies and local authorities regarding the latest disaster information. Stay calm and avoid panic, so you can think more clearly in order to take the next necessary steps. (pun/rdp*)