An earthquake rocked the Kupang area, NTT, on Thursday, November 2, 2023. BMKG, the Indonesian Meteorological Agency, stated that the epicenter of the earthquake occurred on land 24 kilometers southeast of Kupang. Meanwhile, the depth of the earthquake was 10 km.
Earthquake in Kupang
The natural disaster occurred at 04:04 WIB. There has been no news of an earthquake measuring 6.6 on the SR. There has been no news of any victims from the disaster. Based on news from the Indonesian Meteorological Agency, this natural disaster did not have the potential to cause a tsunami. However, the magnitude of the shaking caused the area around Kupang to also feel vibrations, although not up to 6.6 SR.
Aftershocks continued to occur after the large 6.6 SR earthquake took place. BMGK Daryono said that the number of aftershocks reached 5. The strengths of the five aftershocks were 3.3 SR, 2.7 SR, 3.2 SR, 2.2 SR, and 2.6 SR. BMGK appealed to the people of Kupang to remain alert and not panic because this earthquake hit the shallow crust. People should also prepare a lot of safety equipment, food, and other things for survival. If someone is seriously injured, people around them need to immediately flee to the nearest health institution.
The public also needs to anticipate the possibility of a fire or gas leak. Apart from that, people who are not in the Kupang area are advised not to come to this place. There is a possibility that aftershocks will still occur. The people of Kupang should also continue to listen to information about earthquakes via radio. Don’t be easily provoked by baseless provocations in your environment.
Earthquakes that occurred in the shallow crust were caused by the activity of active faults. Then there was a downward movement too. According to Liputan 6, the earthquake caused damage to buildings.
However, the damage was only minor, so there were no casualties. A number of buildings damaged by the Kupang earthquake included the NTT Governor’s Office and the Kupang Regent’s Office.
The NTT Governor’s Office suffered several cracks due to the main earthquake. Meanwhile, the Kupang Regent’s Office experienced a ceiling collapse. Luckily, when the ceiling collapsed, it didn’t hit anyone working in the Kupang Regent’s Office at all. Damage also occurred at the houses of Kupang residents, such as the house belonging to Nehemia Ndun.