Bengkulu Earthquake: Get to Know Megathrust Earthquakes Early

TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - The province of Bengkulu was shaken by a 6.3-magnitude earthquake on Friday, May 23, 2025. As quoted from Antara, the Meteorology, Climatology, and Geophysics Agency (BMKG) confirmed that the earthquake did not originate from the megathrust earthquake zone, but originated from the 84-kilometer deep intraslab zone and did not have the potential to trigger a tsunami.

"The intraslab earthquake character has strong vibrations but does not cause seafloor deformation, thus it does not generate a tsunami," said Daryono in a press conference in Jakarta on Friday, May 23, 2025.

The most affected area was in the city of Bengkulu, but the vibrations were also strongly felt in several areas such as Seluma in Bengkulu to the Empat Lawang Regency, South Sumatra, and parts of West Lampung.

What is a megathrust earthquake and its impact?

In Indonesia, megathrust earthquakes are not uncommon. Based on data compiled by the BMKG, there are many megathrust earthquakes that occur in various regions in Indonesia.

Nuraini Rahma Hanifa, a Research Expert at the Geological Disaster Research Center of the National Research and Innovation Agency (BRIN), stated that most megathrust and tsunami earthquakes occur along Sumatra, some in Java, and quite a few in Eastern Indonesia.

Megathrust is the meeting zone between the tectonic plates of the earth that have the potential to cause strong earthquakes and tsunamis. The term "mega" means large, while "thrust" means thrust fault. Its location is at the boundary of the meeting of continental crust and oceanic crust.

If an earthquake occurs in the megathrust zone, the part of the continental plate located above the oceanic plate is pushed upward (thrusting). A large-scale earthquake in the sea can then trigger a tsunami.

Megathrust earthquakes usually have a magnitude between 7 and 8, and the duration of the shaking is much longer than ordinary earthquakes, and can even last for several minutes.

According to Earthquakes Canada, signs of a megathrust earthquake include sudden coast submergence, the death of vegetation that can be dated, and the occurrence of underwater landslides from the continental shelf into the deep sea. These landslide deposits can be identified through core samples taken from the seafloor.

Karunia Putri, Andika Dwi, Irsyan Hasyim also contributed to the writing of this article.

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