PETALING JAYA: Scores of people ran out of their apartments in many parts of the Klang Valley last night when they felt tremors following an earthquake measuring 6.1 on the Richter scale which occurred in northern Sumatra at 10.26pm.
Tremors were also felt in Klang and as far south as Malacca.
An aftershock was also felt at 10.49pm measuring 5.1 on the Richter scale.
The Star’s office here was flooded with calls from worried readers from Banting, Kuala Lumpur, Puchong and here who felt the tremors.
In Malacca, The Star bureau chief Martin Carvalho, who lives on the seventh floor of the Straits Court Condo in Ujong Pasir, said he and his wife Karen felt the building swaying for several seconds while they were in the living room.
“I immediately told my wife to grab my five-year-old daughter who was asleep on the sofa and head for the emergency staircase next to our unit,” he said, adding that about 40 other residents also ran down for safety.
However, he said most returned to their units about 30 minutes later.
A fire and rescue department officer confirmed that they received calls from the public to enquire about the tremor.
“We received calls from residents from the Condo Pantai Peringgit including from Harbour Club in Bandar Hilir and Pantai Medical Centre in Ayer Keroh,” he said, adding that there was no report of injury or property damage.
James Nayagam, 53, from Taman Petaling in Petaling Jaya, said he and his wife felt the tremors at their double-storey terrace home at 10.30pm as they were watching television.
“We were watching television when suddenly we felt dizzy before realising it was an earthquake. It was over 10 seconds later,” he said.
The Malaysian Meteorological Department website confirmed an earthquake occurred 145km east of Nias, Indonesia, and 336km south-west of Klang.
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