Magnitude 5.8 Earthquake Hit in Molucca Sea, Indonesia

- Time: 2024-03-13 at 18:56:13 UTC
             2024-03-14 at 02:56:13 Makassar
- Location: -0.11° LAT, 125.21° LON
- Magnitude: Mww5.8
- Depth: 26 km
- Provider: USGS, USGS_Quakes


Picture 1: Location of the magnitude 5.8 earthquake in Molucca Sea.

The earthquake occurred in an area where we announced HIGH seismic hazard exposure (orange alert) in our latest weekly earthquake forecast for the Indonesia region, on March 11, 2024, available here.


Picture 2: Latest earthquake forecast for the Indonesia region, posted on March 11, 2024.

The earthquake occurred due to the rotational singularity (marked with a white ellipse) that is present in Indonesia region. We posted about it on March 11, 2024, and is accessible here.

Rotational singularity can occur when the fault planes are "infinitely" close to each other or the theoretically infinite shear- and normal tractions are associated with finite (micro)rotations within infinitely small regions (volumes of rocks). In practice, this happens when tectonic waves with low Cosserat lengths (generally) interact with each other within a region. Its shape can be elongated (like e.g. before the Great Noto Earthquake in Japan) or circular.


Picture 3: Post about rotational singularity influencing earthquake-triggering in Indonesia.

The earthquake also occurred on one of the D-waves we highlighted on March 13, 2024, as shown in the image below and here.

D-waves (D stands for Dangerous) are potentially dangerous tectonic waves due to the elevated seismic activity along these waves, including major seismic event and their contribution to the elevation of tectonic tractions (shear- and dynamic traction) in multiple regions worldwide.


Picture 4: Regions exposed to higher earthquake-triggering based on the D-wave, posted on March 13, 2024.

Quantectum's Macroseismic Intensity map suggests level "IV" which corresponds to MODERATE shaking and potential no damage around the epicenter. Potentially exposed cities were Modisi (pop. 10,000), Tondano (pop. 33,000), Tomohon (pop. 28,000) and Bitung (pop. 225,000).


Picture 5: Macroseismic Intensity map for the magnitude 5.8 earthquake in Molucca Sea.

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.

** The information provided is a product of Quantectum's own system, please tag Quantectum when sharing it. For more detailed information, contact us by email.

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