Sumatra Quake Tremors Panic
High-rise Occupants In Peninsula
bernama.com 26/12/2004 15:09 PM
KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 26 (Bernama) -- A powerful earthquake in the north of
the Indonesian island of Sumatra Sunday morning shook many parts of
Peninsular Malaysia, creating panic among occupants of high-rise
buildings.
The tremors lasting about two minutes were felt at about 9am and caused
people to rush out of high-rise buildings.
There were no reports of injury or damage.
The Director of the Seismology Division of the Meteorological Services
Department, Low Kong Chiew, said in a statement that the quake hit
northwest Sumatra at 8.58am.
"A preliminary measurement showed that the centre of the earthquake was at
Latitude 3.1 N and Longitude 95.5 E (about 680km from Kuala Lumpur) with a
magnitude of 7.0 on the Richter scale," he said.
The tremors were felt in Kedah, Perlis, Penang, Perak, Selangor, Negeri
Sembilan, Kelantan, Terengganu and the Klang Valley, he added.
Foreign news agencies reported that the quake set off tsunami tidal waves
around the rim of the Indian Ocean which killed scores of people from Sri
Lanka to Thailand.
In JAKARTA, Bernama correspondent Mohd Nasir Yusoff said the quake that
rocked Medan and Aceh in eastern and northern Sumatra at about 8am West
Indonesian time (9am Malaysian time) was measured at 6.4 on the Richter
scale by the Indonesian Geophysics and Meteorology Office.
An official of the office interviewed live on MetroTV station said the
epicentre of the quake was in western Aceh around Meulaboh.
The quake destroyed some buildings in Medan and Aceh and caused the sea
level to rise and inundate hundreds of houses near the coast in
Lhokseumawe near Banda Aceh, forcing the occupants to flee to higher
ground.
Local TV stations said there had been no reports of deaths but their
commentators feared casualties were inevitable.
In KUALA LUMPUR, a telephone operator in Hotel Nikko at Jalan Ampang, who
wanted to be identified as Nitra, said many hotel guests called the
switchboard asking about the tremors.
"They felt the tremors and worried about their safety," Nitra said.
Residents of condominiums and apartments in Tasik Permaisuri, Cheras,
rushed out of their high-rise homes when they felt their buildings
rocking.
A resident of Pangsapuri Cendana, Zainal Abidin Razali, 52, said he felt
the building swaying at about 9.10am but initially put the feeling down to
his headache.
When his wife told him that she experienced the same feeling, he quickly
left his 15th floor apartment with his family using the stairs.
"When we got out of the building, there was already a big group of people
outside talking and shouting," he said.
Another resident, Bariah Al Bakri, 40, who lived on the 7th floor, said
she felt the building shaking and then heard people shouting.
"I grabbed my handbag and ran," she said.
The police arrived at the apartments at about 10.30am and managed to calm
the residents who gradually went back inside.
In PENANG, thousands of people fled from high-rise buildings and hotels
which shook and caused mass panic.
The worst-affected area appeared to be the northeast part of the island.
A resident of the 10-storey Nusantara apartments at Jalan Perak, Ismail
Merican, said he was jolted awake when his bed began to shake severely.
"My iron gate was rattling and I saw my neighbours running," he said.
He woke up his family and they fled the building together with all its
occupants.
There were similar chaotic scenes at some hotels.
A worker at the Sunway Hotel, who wished to be known as "Liqat", said
hundreds of hotel guests rushed out of their rooms when the building began
to shake.
He said the hotel staff assured the guests that there was no need to panic
as the earthquake happened in Indonesia and an inspection of the hotel
building showed no structural damage.
Kompleks Tun Abdul Razak (Komtar), the island's tallest building, stood
unaffected as Sunday is a public holiday and all offices in the building
were closed while the shops inside had not opened for business at that
time.
In PUTRAJAYA, Member of Parliament Datuk Tengku Adnan Mansor said the
tremors were only felt for a few seconds but panicky residents in the
10-storey Precinct 8 apartments dashed out of their homes.
"I went there and advised the residents to stay calm and return to their
apartments," he told reporters after presenting prizes and gifts to top
scorers in the Primary School Achievement Test (UPSR).
In KOTA BAHARU, the tremors lasted only about 20 seconds but that was
sufficient to cause many occupants of high-rise buildings including Wisma
Persekutuan, the Federal Development Department (JPP) office and state
police headquarters, and hotels to rush out to seek safety.
Many of them appeared in a state of shock.
Universiti Sains Malaysia Hospital (HUSM) evacuated about 300 patients
from wards on the 7th and 8th floors of its building.
HUSM Deputy Director (Management) Wan Mohd Suyuti Wan Ismail said those
evacuated were non-critical patients and they were taken to the car park
where they stayed for nearly an hour.
"Once our engineering unit determined the situation was safe, that there
were no cracks in the building and no damage to equipment, the patients
were taken back to the wards," he told reporters.
An employee at the state police headquarters, Wan Rusliza Wan Mat, 32,
said he was having breakfast with some friends when their table began to
move.
"We were shocked, then we panicked when we saw the water in a mineral
water bottle began to swirl on its own. We ran. I remember feeling dizzy
because I felt everything around me were moving although I didn't move,"
he said.
An official of the Wisma Persekutuan building management said all the
staff of the 32 federal agencies in the building rushed out using the
stairs when the tremors began.
In ALOR STAR, strong tremors were felt by occupants in high-rise buildings
such as Bangunan Sultan Abdul Halim, PKNK, MARA, Menara Alor Star,
Bangunan Tunku and Wisma Darul Aman.
A government employee in Bangunan Sultan Abdul Halim, Mohd Nizam Ishak,
24, said the furniture shook on the top floor of the building.
He said he fled the building with other occupants and they only returned
to it about 15 minutes later.
In JOHOR BAHARU, housewife Ramlah Ahmad, 32, said she felt dizzy and saw
the water in her aquarium tank swirling.
Fearing the worst, she led her three children down from their 16th floor
flat in the Bukit Chagar Building.
"I was worried because this was my third such experience here," said
Ramlah who had lived in the building for nearly 30 years.
Another resident on the 16th floor, housewife Asmah Pusidin, said the
tremors were mild but she left her flat with her children as a precaution.
Spokesmen of the Johor Baharu Fire and Rescue Department Bomba and Civil
Defence Department said there were no reports of building damage or
accidents during the tremors.
In Langkawi, an official of the Kedah Marine Department said high waves
were seen near Pantai Kok, Hotel Porto Malai and Awana Resort but no
damage was reported.
United Ferry Ventures Sdn Bhd operations manager Wong Sie Kiong said the
company's ferries plying between Kuala Kedah and Langkawi were operating
as usual and according to schedule.
He said the sea level rose about two to three metres at about 9am after
the earthquake struck but the water subsided half an hour later.
-- BERNAMA |
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