Jakarta : The Meteorology, Climatology, and Geophysics Agency (BMKG) said that the earthquake of preliminary magnitude 7.6 that struck central Japan on Monday is not likely to affect Indonesia’s coastal areas.
Head of the agency’s Earthquake and Tsunami Center, Daryono, said that the powerful earthquake, which occurred around 2:10 p.m. local time and whose epicenter was located in Ishikawa Prefecture at a depth of 45 kilometers, prompted Japan to issue tsunami warnings.
However, based on a tsunami modeling analysis, the quake is not likely to trigger a tsunami in the coastal areas of Indonesia and other countries in the Indian Ocean region, he informed here on Monday.
The Japanese authorities have issued a tsunami warning for the country’s western coastal regions, he said, adding that the height of tsunami waves has been forecast to reach between 20 centimeters and 5 meters.
The height of potential tsunami waves in the Nato area of Ishikawa Prefecture could likely reach 5 meters, while potential tsunami waves in the coastal areas of regions such as Yamaga and Niigata prefectures could be as high as 3 meters, he said.
Despite the absence of a tsunami warning for Indonesia’s coastal areas following the quake in Japan, the public must stay alert and disregard groundless information, Daryono said.
