KOTA KINABALU, Aug 26 – A magnitude-4.0 earthquake struck near Ranau this morning, reviving old anxieties of the deadly tremors that took place last year.

Although there were no reports of injuries or fatalities this time, Sabah Parks director Jamili Nais, who was on the mountain and making his descent during the quake, said he felt the tremors were as strong as last year's but ended sooner.

“Thankfully, no incident has been reported. Although we had some people going back from the climb, and some of our porters were going through some post trauma stress,” he said.

According to the Malaysian Meteorological department, the earthquake's epicentre was some 16km west of Ranau at 9.39am and tremors were felt in Ranau, Kota Kinabalu, Penampang and Tuaran.

Last year’s earthquake on June 5, also on a Friday, occurred earlier in the morning and led to the deaths of 18 people who were on a mountain obstacle course.

Aftershocks continued for months, causing concern among villagers who lived at the foothills.

Jamili, who made a night climb up the mountain last night, said six groups of climbers this morning, mostly Europeans, turned back from the climb.

“We sent our rangers to check the trail and buildings but thankfully, all seem to be in place. After last year’s quake and our safety measures put in place, we are better equipped to handle it now,” he said.

Joe Kolis, a Sabah Parks mountain guide who was working at the Laban Rata rest house when the quake occurred, said that most people’s first instinct was to run out of the building in panic.

“There is always some form of panic left in us, especially since we saw a lot last time. But now that some of us have gone through it already, we kept things calm and under controlled as we ushered the climbers out.

“Any guide will tell you that our primary concern is always for our climbers. So we had to stay calm and in control for their sake,” he said,

He told Malay Mail Online that there were about 50 people at the mountain’s Laban Rata area, where most overnight accommodation and a resthouse are located, during the quake while other climbers had already left to return to the headquarters.

“We followed the set SOP, and because we are now all equipped with walkie talkies, it was much faster to gather information, so we were immediately linked to the headquarters as well as the mountain rescue team,” he said.

Desoni Mohijan, a restaurant worker in Ranau, said that when she felt the tremors, she was reminded of last year’s quake that badly damaged her home.

“This one was not so bad, about three seconds, but I still feared for my home and my kids. They were very scared last year,” she said.

She told Malay Mail Online that there was no damage to her home this year, and her children were at school.