false 8.5-magnitude quake and tsunami caused by system error in bali - bmkg confirms

If you received an early tsunami warning text message from the Meteorology, Climatology, and Geophysics Agency (BMKG) this morning, you may exhale a sigh of relief since the SMS explosion was caused by a system fault.

The message, which was sent by BMKG and the Ministry of Information and Communications (Kominfo), was sent to Indonesian phones at around 10:36 a.m., and contained information about an early tsunami warning following an 8.5-magnitude earthquake on June 4, 2021 for East Java, West Nusa Tenggara (NTB), Central Java, Bali, and East Nusa Tenggara (NTT).

Note that we’re not even in June 2021 yet.

BMKG explained this afternoon in a statement that the information in the text is inaccurate.

“There was a mistake in the system for transmitting earthquake information and tsunami early warnings over the SMS channel,” the statement read, adding that a follow-up clarification was issued promptly through the channel.

BMKG and Kominfo have both begun investigations to uncover the root cause of the issue. The public should likewise remain calm, according to the agency.

“The circulating information (in the fraudulent text message) is not a forecast of an earthquake that may occur in the near future, because there is no technology that can precisely and accurately forecast when, where, and how severe an earthquake will occur at this time,” BMKG stated.