5.0 magnitude quakes expected to occur in Malaysia, says experts
SHAH ALAM - A strong earthquake with a magnitude of 6.1 on the Richter scale that hit Bukit Tinggi in Sumatra, Indonesia on Feb 25 has caused strong tremors to be felt in several states in Malaysia, especially in Selangor, Putrajaya, Negeri Sembilan, Melaka, Penang and Johor.
The quake sparked not only a commotion but also a sense of panic among the masses.
The incident leads to the question of how safe is Malaysia as it is situated closely to the Pacific Ring of Fire?
According to Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (UTM) head researcher of the Seismology and Earthquake Engineering Research Group Professor Dr Azlan Adnan, Malaysia will experience the effects of earthquakes as the epicentre lies in the Pacific Ring of Fire.
"The country often feels the tremors because of the active fault lines that produce many earthquakes in Indonesia, especially from Sumatra and the Philippines," Azlan told Sinar Premium.
Azlan, who is also a Lecturer in the Structure and Materials Department, School of Civil Engineering, Faculty of Engineering in UTM, said this led to Malaysia not being completely immune to earthquake tremors.
This was evident when the earthquake in Ranau, Sabah on June 5, 2015, was recorded to reach the magnitude of 6.0 on the Richter scale and has caused severe damage to buildings and infrastructure as well as landslides.
Unfortunately, there were also a total of 18 victims reported to have lost their lives in the earthquake which is considered the worst earthquake incident in the history of the country.
Azlan added that discussion with relevant agencies in creating a hazard map, reveals that an earthquake of 5.0 magnitude could occur in Malaysia.
"We expect a 5.0 magnitude earthquake to occur in the peninsula.
“Areas near the Klang Valley, Bukit Tinggi (Pahang), Kuala Pilah (Negeri Sembilan) and Manjung (Perak) have active faults and we have yet to see the actual movement.
"Active faults are cracks in the earth's surface that are constantly moving that can trigger earthquakes," he added.
When asked why the area mentioned has active faults, Azlan said, it is because the area is located in the rugged mountains where active faults are common.
"To produce an earthquake hazard map, this magnitude 5.0 quake is expected to occur at any time up to the next 500 years," he said.
He added that all buildings in Malaysia must be designed to withstand the effects of earthquakes, depending on the level of tremor intensity measured in the form of peak ground acceleration as in the Seismic Hazard Map issued by the Department of Minerals and Geosciences (JMG) and the Department of Standards. Malaysia (JSM).
Meanwhile, University of Malaya former Lecturer in Structural Geology and Tectonics, Geology Department Associate Professor Mustaffa Kamal Shuib admitted that Malaysia has indeed experienced local earthquakes, apart from feeling the tremors from neighbouring countries' earthquakes.
"In the peninsula, apart from the tremors felt due to the earthquake in Sumatra, the first local earthquake was recorded in 2007.
"Since 2007, there have been earthquakes that come from the country itself namely in Bukit Tinggi, Manjung and Kuala Pilah areas," said Mustaffa Kamal.
He explained that between 2007 to 2015, a total of 31 tremors were recorded by the Meteorological Department with a scale of up to 3.6 Richter around Bukit Tinggi.
However, different scenarios occur in Sabah and Sarawak in which from 1970 to 2019, more than 20 earthquakes were detected in Sarawak, while from 1900 to 2016, more than 65 local earthquakes were recorded in Sabah by the United States Geological Survey.
