LAHAD DATU, Aug 16 (Bernama) -- Residents in several areas on the East Coast of Sabah felt tremors early this morning following a strong 6.1-magnitude earthquake that struck the Minahassa Peninsula, Sulawesi, Indonesia.
A civil servant, Nurul Istiqfarinah Hanafi, 33, said the tremors made her wobbled as she was walking to her car after finishing work here.
"I had just finished work and on the way to my car I felt wobbly for a moment, I thought the road was uneven but it wasn't," she told Bernama.
In Tawau, Kampung Titingan resident Mohd Azlan Ibrahim, 42, noticed the incident when the windows and structure of his house suddenly shook while he was resting.
"The tremors happened very quickly, around five seconds, and I immediately woke my family members because I was worried that something bad would happen," he said.
For Siti Rahmah Kassem, 38, who lives in Taman Sri Pangkalan, Kunak, she saw the hanging lamp in her living room swaying just before she noticed the movement of the floor of her house.
"I immediately woke my husband and children to leave the house with the neighbours. Within 30 minutes everyone was safely back in the house, there was no damage to our house," she said.
Meanwhile, the Sabah Fire and Rescue Department (JBPM) Operations Centre (PGO) informed that so far they have not received any reports of damage to buildings or infrastructure due to the tremor.
Lahad Datu Fire and Rescue Station (BBP) chief Sumsoa Rashid said the tremor was reportedly felt by residents in the Lahad Datu, Tawau, Kunak and Semporna districts.
"All residents are asked to remain calm and obey the authorities' instructions. Always obey safety instructions," he said.
According to the Malaysian Meteorological Department (METMalaysia), the 10-kilometre-deep earthquake was centred at coordinates 0.1 degrees South and 120.6 degrees East, which is about 116 kilometres northeast of Palu, Indonesia.
METMalaysia also confirmed that the assessment carried out found that the earthquake phenomenon did not pose any tsunami threat to Malaysia.
-- BERNAMA