KOTA KINABALU, June 5 — A magnitude 6.0 earthquake hit Sabah’s west coast here this morning, with tremors felt all over the state’s capital city here.
According to earthquake watch website, the earthquake’s epicentre was located 14km north of the Ranau, about a two-hour drive over mountain roads from Kota Kinabalu.
Tremors were felt around the city and on Mount Kinabalu at around 7.15am, where it was reported several landslides have occurred.
State Meteorological Department director Abdul Malek Tussin said the earthquake depth was reported at 54km with tremors felt around Ranau, Tambunan, Tuaran, Kota Belud and the interiors.
The tremors left locals in a panicked state, with many fleeing from office and residential high-rise buildings.
“I woke up to the building shaking. You can see the hanging lamps swaying. My neighbours were shouting and ran out of the apartment block in panic,” said one resident.
Bird researcher Adam Mitchell, who is based in Kinabalu Park, said that the earthquake was felt on the mountain and one of his partners almost got hit by a landslide.
“It was pretty intense up here. Some landslides happening but we are hoping no one has been hurt,” he said.
There are also unconfirmed reports of buildings cracking due to the tremors, aside from and landslides, in Ranau.
Newswire AFP quoted US geologists confirming the earthquake, but there were no initial reports of damage and no tsunami warning was issued.
The US Geological Survey said the quake struck at a depth of 10 kilometres, with its epicentre located 19 kilometres from the town of Ranau and 54 kilometres from Kota Kinabalu in the district of Sabah.
Malaysia does experience earthquakes but is outside the Ring of Fire, a belt of seismic activity running around the basin of the Pacific Ocean that includes neighbours Indonesia and the Philippines.
