KOTA KINABALU – The earthquake that occurred in the South China Sea early yesterday morning did not cause any tremors on the surface, according to the Malaysian Meteorological Department (MetMalaysia).
In a statement today, the department said this was because the earthquake occurred at a depth of 611km and no aftershocks were triggered after close observation.
The MET Malaysia National Seismic Network detected the 4.4-magnitude quake at 6.45° North and 115.87° East in the South China Sea at 3.32am.
“Accordingly, the information of the earthquake was recorded yesterday and not released to the public, but MetMalaysia will continue to monitor the earthquake event.
“The location of the earthquake is generally outside the active earthquake zone or outside the Pacific Ring of Fire,” the statement said.
Yesterday, news claiming that an earthquake had occurred in the South China Sea, about 54km from Kota Kinabalu, went viral on social media.
According to MetMalaysia, based on the fifth edition of the Minerals and Geoscience Department’s 2009 seismotectonic map, the earthquake was located in an area of “inactive thrust fault”.
“Earthquakes in the sea with a magnitude of less than five and a depth of more than 300km will not affect the surface,” read the statement. – Bernama, April 4, 2023
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