SANDAKAN – A 3.6-magnitude earthquake struck off the waters of Sabah’s east coast at 2.11pm today, the Malaysian Meteorological Department said.
According to the department’s Facebook page, the exact coordinates of the earthquake were at 6.2° north and 118.4° east, about 57km from here, at 10-km sea depth.
Residents here did not feel any tremor, and the department said that there was no tsunami threat to Sandakan so far.
Sabah Fire and Rescue Department assistant director for operations, Hamsa Isnurdini, told Scoop the department had not received any report of tremors in Sandakan, and had not received instruction to act on the incident.
However, the department will continue to be alert to the situation, especially in Sandakan, he said.
The weather in Sandakan has been windy and cloudy since morning.
Sabah Meteorological Department director Amirzudi Hashim told Scoop that an earthquake of this magnitude is generally considered mild, and residents situated more than 50km away from the epicenter would typically not feel any tremors.
He also said that the incident should not affect building structures in Sandakan. – January 27, 2024
– January 27, 2024