Latest 6.8-magnitude tremor doesn’t raise temblor risk for the state, says expert
KOTA KINABALU: A powerful deep-sea earthquake off northern Sabah does not increase the likelihood of earthquakes in Sabah, similar to the 2015 deadly Ranau earthquake, says Universiti Malaysia Sabah (UMS) geologist Prof Emeritus Dr Felix Tongkul (pic).
“At this stage, there is no evidence that these deep earthquakes mean increased earthquake danger for Sabah,” Prof Tongkul, who is with UMS’s Natural Disaster Research Centre, said when contacted.
The earthquake measuring 6.8-magnitude was recorded at a depth of 678km, about 49km west of Sabah’s northern Kudat waters at 12.57am yesterday.
According to Prof Tongkul, the earthquake (initially measured at 7.1-magnitude) occurred beneath the sea north of Sabah.
“Although the magnitude was high, the earthquake happened very far below the Earth’s surface with a focal depth of approximately 620km. Because it was so deep, the shaking felt on the ground was generally mild and spread over a wide area. There was no tsunami threat,” he said.
This is not the first deep earthquake in this area.
“Similar deep earthquakes were recorded in April 2023 (5.5-magnitude) and in August 2019 (4.5-magnitude). All three earthquakes happened very deep underground, more than 600km below.
“These earthquakes are not caused by faults near the surface in Sabah. Instead, they occur deep inside the Earth, where one large piece of ocean floor is slowly pushing underneath northern Borneo.
“As this slab of rock sinks deep into the Earth, it bends and adjusts under extreme pressure. Sometimes, the stress becomes too great, and a deep earthquake occurs,” he added.
Prof Tongkul explained that these deep earthquakes differ from shallow earthquakes such as the 2015 Ranau earthquake.
“Deep earthquakes usually do not cause serious damage at the surface because the shaking energy weakens before it reaches the ground,” he said.
A Sabah Fire and Rescue Department spokesman said they did not receive any distress calls immediately after the earthquake, though people shared on social media that they felt mild movements lasting between three and 10 seconds.
Some people living in high-rise buildings in Kota Kinabalu and Putatan also experienced the tremor, but many brushed it aside until they read reports of the earthquake.
According to a Bernama report, residents at the multi-storey People’s Housing Project in Putatan felt strong tremors.
Jalius Majin, 45, said he felt his sofa suddenly shaking and the ceiling fan swinging in his fifth-floor apartment.
He woke up his wife and three children and rushed down the emergency staircase to the carpark area.
On social media, many residents in Membakut and Beaufort, as well as neighbouring Brunei said they felt a brief tremor, but there were no aftershocks.
The latest quake is dubbed the strongest registered in Malaysia in 11 years, since the 2015 Ranau earthquake (6.0-magnitude, which claimed 18 lives.
