Magnitude 5 hit Kepulauan Sula, Indonesia

- Time: 2024-03-08 at 03:52:52 UTC
             2024-03-08 at 12:52:52 Jayapura
- Location: -1.58° LAT, 126.64° LON
- Magnitude: mb5.0 
- Depth: 10 km
- Provider: USGS

Picture 1: Location of the magnitude 5 earthquake in Kepulauan Sula, Indonesia.

The earthquake occurred in an area where we announced INCREASED seismic hazard exposure (yellow alert) in our latest weekly earthquake forecast for the Indonesia region, on March 4, 2024, available here.

Picture 2: The latest earthquake forecast for the Indonesia region, posted on March 4, 2024.

The earthquake region was also under a high shear traction field, linked to the rotational singularity in the region. We posted about this rotational singularity on January 23, 2024, highlighting the increased seismic hazard exposure for the Philippines and Indonesia from February 18, see here.

Picture 3: Two rotational singularities in the Philippines and Indonesia.

A rotational singularity refers to a phenomenon observed in geology and seismology, particularly in the context of tectonic plate interactions. It occurs when fault plates are in extreme proximity to each other, leading to the generation of infinite shear and normal tractions within finite regions, such as volumes of rocks. This situation arises due to the interaction of tectonic waves with low Cosserat lengths, typically within a specific geographic area.

There have been no reports of damage, injuries, or casualties as a result of the earthquake so far and no particular alert was issued.

* The exact information about the magnitude, epicenter, and depth of the earthquake might be revised within the next few hours as seismologists review data and refine their calculations, or as other data providers issue their reports.

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