Tremors were reported in several areas on the west coast of peninsular Malaysia following two earthquakes in northern Sumatra, Indonesia, today.    

A 5.5-magnitude earthquake occurred in northern Sumatera at 8.08am and another, of 5.7-magnitude, happened at 11.01am, according to the Malaysian Meteorological Department, which said the quakes did not trigger any tsunami.  
 
Tremors from both the earthquakes were felt in Kuala Lumpur and in Putrajaya, Selangor, Perak, Malacca and Negeri Sembilan.

Members of the public kept ringing Bernama to learn the reason for the tremors.

Kuala Lumpur Fire and Rescue Department assistant director of the fire division Azizan Ismail said people in several high-rise buildings in the city called in to report the tremors.

Among the buildings in Kuala Lumpur where the tremors were felt at about 11am are Wisma Bernama, Menara Kenanga, the Tenaga Nasional Bhd (TNB) headquarters and Megan Avenue.

Azizan said the tremors were more intense from the eighth floor upwards, but added that there were no reports of damage.

M Govind Nair, 60, Bernama's assistant editor at the English Sub-Editing Desk at Wisma Bernama, said he felt the tremors at about 11 am.

“The tremors lasted for five to six seconds. My chair shook a bit, and then I felt a little dizzy,” he said.

Bernama’s Infolib administrative assistant Mohd Wahid Md Som, 53, said he felt the tremors for about 10 seconds.

“I did not think of rushing out of the building because the tremors only lasted for a short while. I was a little afraid but remained calm,” said Mohd Wahid who works on the eighth floor.

Reports from other areas

In PUTRAJAYA, the tremors were felt at the Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation (MOSTI).

MOSTI public relations officer Noriza Nazri said all employees were instructed to leave the building, and they were seen waiting outside until they were allowed to return.

Office workers at the federal government administrative centre also felt the tremors.

Press secretary to a Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department, Mohd Kamel Othman, said he saw the water in his office aquarium vibrate for a few minutes.

“Before that, I was jolted when a mineral water bottle suddenly started to rattle, and fell from the table,” he told Bernama when contacted a few minutes after the incident at Complex B.

Deputy director (corporate) of the Public Services Department Nik Noraini Nik Ya said employees at Complex C were evacuated from the building twice.

“After the first of the tremors, we were asked to leave the building for 45 minutes and following the second, for an hour, to enable the Fire and Rescue Department to carry out an inspection,” she said.

The Fire and Rescue Department in Putrajaya, when contacted, said they received several complaints of tremors from precincts 1,2,14 and 18.

In KUALA SELANGOR, Meor Anas, 46, an engineering executive at the Sungai Selangor water treatment plant, said he felt the tremors at his office at about 11 am.

“I felt the tremors when I was seated at my work station. I noticed vibrations in the water in the dispenser and a slight movement of a file on my desk,” he said.

“I checked with my colleagues and they told me it could be the effect of the quakes in northern Sumatera this morning,” he said.

In SHAH ALAM, people rushed out of the Sultan Salahuddin Abdul Aziz Shah (SAAS) building and gathered at the square and open space nearby when they felt the tremors at about 8am and again at about 11am.

Rahmah Abdul, 45, who works on the 18th floor, said the fan and her table began to shake just at she was about to get down to work.

“I panicked. Several of my colleagues and I came down from the building,” she said when met at the square.

Abdul Rahman Ahmad, 36, said all the employees were allowed to return to their offices after an inspection by the Fire and Rescue Department personnel.

Syarikat Bekalan Air Selangor (Syabas) corporate communication manager Hashimah Che Mat Din, who was attending a meeting on the 21st floor, also felt the tremors. 

“We were advised to leave the building immediately to avert any eventuality,” she said. 

In KLANG, a resident of Kampung Meru, Suziela Che Mat, called Bernama to eport the tremors she felt at her home.

“I was reading a book in bed, and the bed shook. I noticed vibrations in the water in a bottle,” she said.

Suziela, 25, said she did not rush out of her house because the tremors lasted only a few seconds.

She said she felt a little dizzy then.

In SEREMBAN, 269 office workers of Menara MAA in Jalan Lintang, which houses the offices of the Inland Revenue Board and the insurance company MAA, rushed out of the building after having felt the tremors at about 11am. 

Seremban Fire Station officer Zulkefly Ahmad said eight fire and rescue personnel were rushed to the building at 11.14am.

“The people in the 23-storey building felt the tremors for almost 20 seconds. An inspection showed that there was no damage to the building.

One of the employees, Mohd Azizan Abu, 50, said he felt his pen move by itself. When the alarm sounded, he and his colleagues rushed out of the building using the stairs.

N Indrani, 38, said she felt her desk and other furniture shaking, and all of them ran out of the building.

“We were on the eighth floor, and I felt dizzy for a moment,” she said.

- Bernama