M6.6 Earthquake shakes West Java

By: Stefanie Danya

January 17, 2022

 

On Friday, 14th of January 2022, an earthquake with a magnitude of 6.6 struck the west side of Java island and brought damage upon multiple buildings. According to Meteorological Climatology and Geophysics Agency (BMKG), the earthquake was caused by subduction activity, and its epicenter was in the Indian ocean, which is close to Ujung Kulon National Park in Banten. 

 

The earthquake was strong enough to make cities close to Banten feel the shocks; these cities and regencies include Jakarta, Bogor, Depok, Lampung and more. The earthquake evidently shocked Indonesian netizens as the hashtag “Gempa” became a trending hashtag on Twitter, along with some other hashtags related to the matter. 

 

Following the earthquake, there were five aftershocks with magnitudes ranging from 3.5 to 5.7. The BMKG mentioned that a tsunami was not likely to happen, so residents affected by the earthquake should stay calm and not believe any false information about the earthquake.