Sabah shaken by quake off Philippines

The tremors felt in various parts of the east coast, including Sandakan and Tawau as well as in the state capital.

KOTA KINABALU: People ran out of multi-storey buildings after tremors were felt in eastern Sabah following a magnitude 7.3 earthquake in the Celebes Sea, off the Philippines.

Many people said they felt the buildings they were in shaking following the 2.13pm Tuesday earthquake, which hit about 466km east of Semporna.

The tremors were felt in various parts of the east coast, including Sandakan and Tawau as well as in the state capital.

“When the tremors struck I thought my head was spinning,” said office worker Ricka Johan in Sembulan near here.

Civil servant Cleophas John Gordon who was in his third floor office said he felt his chair shaking and when he stood up, he experienced a headache.

“The first thing that came to mind was to get out of the office, and I used the stairs to run down three floors,” he said.