Tsunami Hits Several Areas in NTT-South Sulawesi, Waves Nearly 1 Meter High

A magnitude 7 earthquake jolted Nagekeo, East Nusa Tenggara, on Saturday morning, prompting the Meteorology, Climatology, and Geophysics Agency (BMKG) to issue tsunami warnings for several coastal areas. Subsequent updates confirmed the detection of tsunami waves in multiple locations across East Nusa Tenggara and South Sulawesi.

The BMKG reported that tsunami waves reached varying heights, with the highest recorded at 0.94 meters in Maurole, East Nusa Tenggara, around 05:27 WIB. Other affected areas included Baubau (0.30 meters), Bulukumba (0.54 meters), Kawapante (0.38 meters), Flores Timur (0.25 meters), Bakalang (0.14 meters), Sikka (0.19 meters), and Labuan Bajo (0.36 meters) in East Nusa Tenggara, as well as Dompu (0.17 meters).

The seismic event was widely felt, with tremors registered on the Modified Mercalli Intensity (MMI) scale. Intensities ranged from MMI IV-V in cities like Ruteng, Bima, Dompu, Ende, Labuan Bajo, Maumere, and East Nusa Tenggara, where the shaking was strong enough to be noticed by most people indoors and cause items to fall. In other regions, including parts of Flores Timur, Lembata, Adonara, Lombok, Denpasar, and Makassar, the earthquake was felt at MMI III-IV, described as a strong vibration like a passing truck, or MMI II-III, where only a few people felt the shaking and light objects swayed.