PETALING JAYA: Experts are calling for an update of Malaysia’s structural geological mapping to better understand incidents of earthquake in Malaysia.
They are making the call following the spate of earthquakes that struck Johor in the past week.
Universiti Teknologi Malaysia’s (UTM) deputy vice-chancellor (development) Prof Dr Edy Tonnizam Mohamad said this provides additional data on seismic hazards, creating a better understanding of trends in related areas.
“The current situation calls for an updated geological map to better understand seismic hazards.
“Anywhere between five and 10 years would be good,” he said.
Prof Edy Tonnizam, a distinguished fellow at UTM’s Centre of Tropical Geoengineering, said this procedure is also practised in other countries.
“In Indonesia, additional data comprising more than 200 instances of seismic hazards and activities is updated annually,” he added.
Regarding the earthquakes in Johor, he noted that stresses from regional seismic activities should not be dismissed.
He, however, said the risk of seismic activities is expected to be low and moderate.
“As the risk is low to moderate, most buildings are safe.
“If it happens on a scale of more than five on the Richter scale, however, it could cause damage,” he said.
Dr Khamarrul Azahari Razak from UTM emphasised the necessity for retrofitting programmes to be implemented in older cities that house critical infrastructure and high-rise buildings situated within active fault zones.
He highlighted the need to enhance Malaysia’s earthquake resilience by enforcing and implementing Eurocode 8 (MS EN 1998-1:2015) and the Malaysian National Annex (2017) for seismic design.
Eurocode 8 applies to the design and construction of buildings and other civil engineering works in seismic regions.
“While Malaysia is relatively stable compared to the Pacific Ring of Fire zone, it is not earthquake-free and can be exposed to other major earthquakes,” said Khammarul Azahari, a senior research fellow at the university’s Malaysia-Japan International Institute of Technology disaster preparedness and prevention centre.
Investments towards earthquake risk reduction are equally important, he said.
“It should be directed towards a deeper understanding of recent earthquakes, the mapping of seismic hazards and the enhancement of preparedness,” he said.
He said locals in earthquake-risk zones and the vicinity should be empowered with the capacity, knowledge and experience to handle such instances.
“The key to reducing future earthquake risk is to make our communities and cities more resilient,” he added.
