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Earthquake in Malaysia?

The last earthquake that happened somewhere in Sumatra, Indonesia was felt by most people staying in the west coast side of Malaysia and Singapore. According to the United States Geological Survey:

Earthquake : Magnitude : 6.0
Date-Time : Monday, May 19, 2008 at 14:26:45 (UTC)-Coordinated Universal Time
Monday, May 19, 2008 at 09:26:45 PM local time at epicenter
Region : Northern Sumatra, Indonesia
Distances :40 km (25 miles) E of Sibolga, Sumatra, Indonesia
220 km (140 miles) SSE of Medan, Sumatra, Indonesia
330 km (205 miles) WSW of KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia
1200 km (750 miles) NW of JAKARTA, Java, Indonesia
Remarks :Felt (IV) at Airbangis and Sipirok; (III) at Bukittinggi, Padangsidempuan, Payakumbuh and Sibolga. Also felt (III) at Gunungsitoli, Nias. Felt at Kisaran. Felt (IV) at Kajang and Sungai Chua; (III) at Balakuyong, Klang, Kuala Lumpur and Seremban; (II) at Air Keruh, Petaling Jaya and Shah Alam, Malaysia. Felt at Ampang, Ayer Itam, Banting, Batu Gajah, Batu Pahat, Bukit Baru, Butterworth, Gelugor Estate, Kampong Baharu Nilai, Kampung Tanjung, Klebang Besar, Melaka Pindah, Port Dickson and Teluk Intan, Malaysia. Also felt at Kathu, Thailand and on Singapore.

Source :http://neic.usgs.gov/neis/bulletin/neic_sfa9.html

Not long ago, for the first time I actually felt a tremor staying on the 13th floor of an apartment. I was sitting down and sliding left and right, and thought I was going to pass out. Really freaky.

With the most recent tremor, my friend staying on a landed property which is a double storey link house, also felt it! A relative of mine also felt the tremor on his landed property. Maybe it's a coincidence that the houses were badly built. Well, the question is whether it's badly constructed or not, are houses and highrises in Malaysia built to withstand even a minor earthquake? Or even considerations and guidelines for developers to follow so that buildings can withstand tremors multiple times a year and throughout the years.

With the 'tidak apa' attitude and certain quarters or people that just cared about their pockets, I doubt these issues would get any attention at all until something major happens. What do you think? Am I being too paranoid?


1 comment:

  1. The country's worst affected areas were the northern coastal areas and outlying islands like Penang and Langkawi. The simple red flag warning system used by lifeguards on beaches in some resort areas in Penang was credited to reducing the number of fatalities. Since the epicentre was on the western coast of Sumatra, the island largely shielded the country from the worst of the tsunami.
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