Jakarta. A series of earthquakes in Pangalengan, West Java, does not necessarily indicate that a major earthquake is imminent, according to seismologist and disaster expert Daryono.

Daryono, an academic and member of the Indonesian Association of Disaster Experts (IABI), said earthquake swarms can gradually subside rather than intensify.

“Swarm does not always mean the earthquakes will continue to grow. Some swarm sequences can gradually subside,” he said in Bandung on Thursday, as quoted by Antara.

The Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency (BMKG) recorded dozens of earthquakes in Pangalengan and surrounding areas since Wednesday, with several felt by residents. The activity continued into Thursday morning, including a magnitude 2.6 earthquake at 4:59 a.m. local time, centered on land about 23 kilometers south of Bandung Regency at a depth of 3 kilometers.

An earthquake swarm refers to repeated earthquakes occurring in the same area over a certain period without a clearly dominant mainshock.

Daryono said such activity indicates deformation and stress release in the Earth’s crust but can be associated with fault movement as well as volcanic or hydrothermal activity.

Pangalengan lies in an area of complex crustal deformation near the active Garsela Fault system in southern West Java.

BMKG recorded two earthquakes in Bandung Regency on Wednesday morning, measuring magnitude 2.2 at 6:21 a.m. and magnitude 2.9 at 8:11 a.m., both at depths of 5 kilometers. Smaller tremors were also recorded.

Daryono urged residents not to panic but to remain prepared, including by checking buildings, securing objects that could fall and knowing the drop, cover and hold-on procedure. He also warned of secondary hazards such as landslides.

Residents should continue monitoring official updates from BMKG, he said.

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