By Sumayya
KUALA LUMPUR — Two moderate earthquakes shook parts of Southeast Asia within a 24-hour period, striking regions in both Indonesia and the Philippines. While the seismic events caused brief alarm across the affected islands, authorities have confirmed that there is absolutely no threat of a tsunami for neighbouring countries, including Malaysia.
The first seismic event occurred in the remote region of West Papua, located in eastern Indonesia. According to official data released by the Malaysian Meteorological Department (widely known as MetMalaysia), a 5.3-magnitude earthquake was officially detected and registered by seismic monitoring stations early in the morning at exactly 8:04 AM.
Further technical details provided by seismologists indicated that the earthquake’s epicenter was located quite deep underground, positioned roughly 159 kilometers southwest of the city of Jayapura. The precise geographic coordinates were mapped at 3.4 degrees South latitude and 139.6 degrees East longitude, with the rupture occurring at an estimated depth of 60 kilometers beneath the Earth’s surface. Because the earthquake occurred deep inland rather than under the ocean floor, MetMalaysia quickly issued a reassuring public statement confirming that the event posed absolutely no risk of triggering a destructive tsunami wave in the region.
Only a short time later, a separate and entirely independent earthquake struck the southern Philippines. The GFZ German Research Centre for Geosciences, an international body that monitors worldwide tectonic movements, reported that a stronger 5.5-magnitude earthquake shook the major island region of Mindanao. This second tremor was recorded at 1:22 PM local time on Tuesday.
Initial calculations by the global research center determined that the Philippine earthquake originated at a much greater depth of 122.4 kilometers below the ground. Its coordinates were pinned at latitude 5.17 degrees North and longitude 125.90 degrees East. Due to the significant depth of this second quake, the intense shaking was cushioned before reaching the surface, which typically helps reduce the severity of ground destruction.
Because both earthquakes occurred in relatively remote or deep zones, local disaster management agencies did not have immediate reports regarding casualties, injuries, or structural damage to buildings. Emergency teams in both Indonesia and the Philippines are continuing to monitor the situations for any delayed updates or potential aftershocks.
