ISKANDAR PUTERI: The federal government has approved a RM3mil allocation to build two additional seismology stations (weak-motion) in Johor to strengthen the state's earthquake monitoring system.
Mentri Besar Datuk Onn Hafiz Ghazi said the new stations would complement the six existing ones, which would be upgraded to improve early tremor detection capabilities in high-risk areas.
He said the initiative is part of the state government's medium-term efforts, in collaboration with the Minerals and Geoscience Department (JMG), the National Disaster Management Agency and the Malaysian Meteorological Department (MetMalaysia), to enhance scientific monitoring and analysis in the affected zones.
"The state government extends its appreciation to Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi for approving this RM3mil allocation," he said at the State Legislative Assembly sitting here on Thursday (Sept 11).
Onn Hafiz said Johor JMG is also conducting land and building assessments in earthquake epicentre areas to identify risk levels more accurately and ensure the safety of residents.
Several minor earthquakes were recorded in Segamat and Batu Pahat starting Aug 24 with a magnitude of 4.1, followed by seven aftershocks between Aug 27 and Sept 3, measuring between 2.5 and 3.4 in magnitude.
Meanwhile, Onn Hafiz said the state government would step up preparedness through continuous studies on fault lines and earthquake impacts by JMG, MetMalaysia and public universities, with findings to be presented to the state disaster management committee.
"All new developments must also take into account the Malaysia National Annex to Eurocode 8 standards to ensure earthquake-resistant structures," he said.
He added that vulnerability assessments of existing critical infrastructure, such as hospitals, dams, data centres and strategic facilities, would be carried out.
Onn Hafiz said guidelines for the safety of buildings and strategic infrastructure in high-risk areas are being drawn up, while seismic risk mapping would be continuously updated using fault movement data and modern technologies, including artificial intelligence. - Bernama
