When land stirs: Decoding the Batu Pahat tremor

ON the afternoon of Sept 22, 2026, a 4.4-magnitude earthquake struck off the coast of Batu Pahat, Johor. According to the Malaysian Meteorological Department (MetMalaysia), the tremor occurred at 4.55pm at a shallow depth of 10km, with its epicentre located roughly 27km south-west of Batu Pahat.

While no tsunami warning was required, the event was far from isolated. It followed two earlier, weaker tremors detected in the exact same maritime area on June 21 and Aug 25 in the same year, registering magnitudes of 3.3 and 3.1 respectively.