Tremors felt in parts of Malaysia following Sumatran earthquake

NST 1/12/2006 Fay Angela D’cruz

KUALA LUMPUR, FRI.:
Tremors were felt in the city, Petaling Jaya and Penang today after a strong earthquake hit Medan, Indonesia.

Residents in high-rise buildings in the three areas said they felt the tremors. This was the result of an earthquake with a magnitude of 6.4 on the Richter scale at 11.58am.

It occurred 35km southeast of Medan and 267km southwest of Bayan Lepas in Penang. The worst-affected areas in the Klang Valley were Taman Desa, Subang Jaya, Petaling Jaya and Jalan Klang Lama.

Taylor’s College Assistant Manager National Marketing and Admissions, Michael Ng, said students were evacuated from the college building in Subang Jaya.

“It was only for a short time though. After that, all the students went back to their classes once the fire department deemed it safe,” he said.

Yew Hong Neng, 50, who was at the National Registration Department in Petaling Jaya, said she had just got into the building when the tremors started.

“It was not very strong but I felt dizzy for a while and everyone panicked and ran out of the building,” she said.

There was no casualties or damages reported.

Bernama quoted a spokesman for the Petronas Twin Towers as saying that tremors were not felt there and that everything went on as usual.

In Penang, Bernama quoted state director of Meteorology, S. Santira, as saying that the tremors were felt for about five minutes at several high-rise buildings.

He said that among others, tremors were felt at the Tun Abdul Razak Complex (Komtar) in Georgetown, which houses government offices and a shopping complex.

He, however, advised the public not to be alarmed as the earthquake did not cause a tsunami.

Penang was among northern states badly hit by the 2004 tsunami.