Malaysians should remain vigilant for earthquakes even though the country is outside the Pacific Ring of Fire, according to President of the Institute of Geology Malaysia Abd Rasid Jaapar.
While Malaysia is not situated along the collision zone of major tectonic plates, which reduces the risk of major earthquakes, several minor tremors have been recorded in certain areas over recent decades, The Star newspaper reported.
Earthquakes are unpredictable in both location and magnitude, and the risk exists. However, at present, there is no significant earthquake risk in Peninsular Malaysia, he said.
Director-General of the National Disaster Management Agency (Nadma) Datuk Khairul Shahril Idrus said that the Special Malaysia Disaster Assistance and Rescue Team (SMART) remains on high alert, regularly conducting disaster response exercises, particularly in high-risk areas in Sabah.
Despite Malaysia’s location outside the Pacific Ring of Fire, Sabah, especially Mount Kinabalu, remains the most vulnerable area in the event of an earthquake. That is why SMART frequently conducts drills in the Mount Kinabalu region, he added.
Meanwhile, Director-General of the Malaysian Meteorological Department (MetMalaysia) Dr Mohd Hisham Mohd Anip said that MetMalaysia currently operates 80 seismic sensors to monitor and detect earthquake activity across Malaysia and the surrounding region.
So far, MetMalaysia has also deployed 83 tsunami sirens in tsunami-prone areas nationwide. The Malaysian Tsunami Early Warning System is capable of relaying earthquake alerts to the public within eight minutes of detection, he said.
On March 28, a powerful 7.7-magnitude earthquake struck Myanmar, at a depth of 10km. Just minutes later, an aftershock measuring 6.4 on the Richter scale hit the same area. Several countries in the region were also affected by this earthquake./.
