KOTA KINABALU, Sept 3 (Bernama) -- The 3.4-magnitude earthquake that struck Keningau, about 113 kilometres from here, this morning startled residents in several parts of the district, with some describing hearing a sound resembling an explosion before feeling the brief tremors.
At the Keningau District Office, a discussion on the third floor was interrupted when the building suddenly shook following the earthquake, which occurred at 9.31 am.
Keningau District Office staff member Daffri Adzahari said he was with several colleagues discussing work matters when they clearly felt the tremors.
“We were somewhat panicked but remained in control. All the staff were startled at the time and we followed the SOP in the event of an emergency by moving to the safe area in the parking compound,” he told Bernama today.
Daffri said the tremors occurred suddenly, prompting staff at the office to stop what they were doing before moving to a safe area in accordance with emergency procedures.
Meanwhile, small-scale trader Lusilly Gamin, 45, said she was in the garage of her house with her husband at Kampung Kapakaan Biah when they heard a sound resembling an explosion before feeling the tremors briefly.
"At first, we heard something like an explosion. Then there were tremors,” she said, adding that the tremors lasted only briefly.
Lusilly said that she was not panicked, but wondered about the sound and shaking as she rarely experienced such an occurrence.
She only learned that it was an earthquake after seeing information about it on WhatsApp, adding that she was surprised to learn that a weak earthquake had occurred in Keningau.
Meanwhile, RTM journalist Dullis Saimon, who lives in Keningau town, said he did not feel the tremors himself but learned about the incident after receiving a call from a friend before information about it spread on social media.
Dullis said based on information he received, the tremors were also felt at several locations around Keningau, including the Keningau District Police Headquarters, Keningau Health Office, business premises, shopping centres and several villages.
“Some members of the public that I made said they felt the tremors while others did not notice them. Those who felt them were startled and wondered what had happened, but the situation remained under control and no untoward incident occurred,” he said.
Earlier, the Malaysian Meteorological Department (MET Malaysia), through the National Weather and Earthquake Operations Centre, detected a weak earthquake measuring 3.4 on the Richter scale at a depth of 10 kilometres (km) in Keningau at 9.31 am today.
As of 11.30 am, MET Malaysia had received 463 reports from members of the public who felt the tremors in nearby areas.
-- BERNAMA