KOTA KINABALU, Feb 23 — A strong earthquake measuring magnitude 6.8 struck the waters off the coast of Sabah at 12.57am today, with tremors reportedly felt across Sabah, Sarawak, parts of Peninsular Malaysia, and in neighbouring Brunei and Singapore.

The Malaysian Meteorological Department (MetMalaysia) confirmed the quake occurred about 49km west of Kudat at a significant depth of 678 kilometres.

Crucially, the department said that there is no tsunami threat to Malaysia.

In Sabah, the deep quake prompted a flurry of activity on social media around 1am, as residents from Kota Belud to the state capital rushed online to share their experiences.

Many reported that the tremors lasted for about 10 seconds and were strong enough to wake them from their sleep.

The US Geological Survey assessed the earthquake at a slightly higher magnitude of 7.1, located 55km off Kota Belud at a depth of 619.8km.

Following the incident, Fire and Rescue Department stations across Sabah conducted patrols to check for any damage.

A spokesman for the department's Operations Control Centre confirmed that, so far, no emergency calls related to the earthquake have been received.

MetMalaysia said it will continue to monitor the situation and has encouraged members of the public who felt the tremors to fill in an online form to assist with its data collection efforts.