Sumatra quakes felt across several states, forcing evacuations

KUALA LUMPUR: Tremors from two earthquakes that hit Sumatra were felt in several states prompting some evacuations.

The tremors were felt as far away as Selangor, Malacca, Negri Sembilan, Perak and Putrajaya.

The first 5.5-magnitude earthquake occurred at 8.08am and the second 5.6-magnitude quake hit the same place at 11.01am yesterday.

Seeking comfort: Alya Batrisya, five, getting a hug from her mother after tremors were felt in Putrajaya yesterday.— Bernama

In Kuala Lumpur, employees at Wisma BSN along Jalan Ampang were evacuated for almost an hour after the 11am tremors.

BSN corporate affairs vice-president Emilia Azyyati Abdul Rahman said over 1,000 employees were asked to assemble at two locations on either side of the office tower.

“I was up on the 19th floor when I felt the tremor. But it was very faint.

“We waited for firefighters to finish inspecting the building before going back,” said Emilia.

However, there was no evacuation at the Petronas Twin Towers across the street.

Workers in several other buildings in Damansara including Menara HP and Bangunan CIMB also felt the tremors and left their offices as a precaution.

Several readers also related their experience to The Star through email.

A student at Inti College, Y.S. Yan, was in the middle of an examination when the tremors hit.

“We were told to leave the building when the tables started shaking,” said Yan.

Tenaga Nasional Berhad (TNB) employees were asked to evacuate their stations and gather at the football field.

Within TNB compounds, three buildings the headquarters, the National Load Dispatch Centre and TNB Generation were evacuated.

In Putrajaya, hundreds of people, mostly government staff, scrambled for safety when tremors were felt in several buildings. Civil servants working in the buildings in Parcel E, especially the Education and Health ministries, reported that they saw their chairs moving slightly.

Clerk Hairani Mohamad was just about to start work when she suddenly felt dizzy and saw her pen on the table rolling.

“Then I felt the building shake. When I saw other staff members rushing out of the building, I realised it was something serious and it turned out to be the earthquakes,” she said.

A Putrajaya Fire and Rescue Department spokesman said several teams were sent to Precincts 1, 2, 15 and 18 after it received reports of tremors.

Checks on the buildings later found no damage, he added.

A Fire and Rescue Department officer for Selangor and Kuala Lumpur said they received distress calls from over 100 people claiming that they had felt the tremors in their high-rise offices and buildings.

The state fire department inspected 15 buildings and gave the all-clear later.

The Kuala Lumpur Fire Department said 11 buildings were inspected with no structural damage detected.

Source: The Star Online