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Over the past 29 days in January 2021, Indonesia experienced 77 earthquakes, including the one that hit Berau District, East Kalimantan, on early Friday (Jan 29), according to the Meteorology, Climatology, and Geophysics Agency (BMKG).

The agency recorded that the Berau earthquake of magnitude 4.1 was the first quake to hit Kalimantan, the Indonesian part of Borneo Island, this year. The epicenter of this 77th earthquake that struck at around 00:42 a.m. local time on Friday was located some 62 kilometers (km) away from the east of Tanjung Rebeb City in Berau District, at a depth of 10 km, the agency’s coordinator for earthquake and tsunami affairs.

January 2021 was recorded as an “abnormal month” for earthquakes in the archipelago wherein the frequency of occurrence of tectonic earthquakes, whose tremors could be felt by residents, was above “normality”.

Earthquakes regularly rock various parts of Indonesia since the country lies on the Circum-Pacific Belt, also known as the Ring of Fire, where several tectonic plates meet and cause frequent volcanic and seismic activities.

On January 15, 2021, a 6.2-magnitude earthquake, ensued by several aftershocks, rattled the districts of Mamuju and Majene in West Sulawesi Province, claiming more than 100 lives, and destroyed many buildings.

The agency recorded that the Berau earthquake of magnitude 4.1 was the first quake to hit Kalimantan, the Indonesian part of Borneo Island, this year. The epicenter of this 77th earthquake that struck at around 00:42 a.m. local time on Friday was located some 62 kilometers (km) away from the east of Tanjung Rebeb City in Berau District, at a depth of 10 km, the agency’s coordinator for earthquake and tsunami affairs.

January 2021 was recorded as an “abnormal month” for earthquakes in the archipelago wherein the frequency of occurrence of tectonic earthquakes, whose tremors could be felt by residents, was above “normality”.

Earthquakes regularly rock various parts of Indonesia since the country lies on the Circum-Pacific Belt, also known as the Ring of Fire, where several tectonic plates meet and cause frequent volcanic and seismic activities.

On January 15, 2021, a 6.2-magnitude earthquake, ensued by several aftershocks, rattled the districts of Mamuju and Majene in West Sulawesi Province, claiming more than 100 lives, and destroyed many buildings.