But people did not flee when a 'tremor' was felt at Chong Pang Community Club yesterday.

Instead, the crowd of about 50, including Minister for Law and Second Minister for Home Affairs K. Shanmugam, watched in rapt attention a simulation of an earthquake tremor being felt in a mock dining room. In the five-minute exercise, tips on what to do were shown, including hiding under a table.

The set-up, called a 'mobile tremorlator', was developed by the Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) and the Singapore Polytechnic (SP) at a cost of about $10,000.

Mr Lim Cher Yam, director of SP's School of the Built Environment, said that in an emergency, 'people tend to panic, and this tremorlator will allow them to practise what to do if faced with a similar situation'.

Earlier, Mr Shanmugam launched the latest edition of the Civil Defence Emergency Handbook at the club. The 91-page book, which contains information on fire safety, medical emergencies and scenarios like a terrorist attack and a tsunami, will be distributed to about a million households by the end of the year.

Introduced in 1990, the handbook is part of the SCDF's continuing efforts to raise civil defence awareness and prepare the public to deal with natural and unconventional threats.

In the revised edition, topics such as safety measures to adopt when using liquefied petroleum gas and steps to take in the event of a landslide are included.

Mr Shanmugam said a Ministry of Home Affairs survey in 2006 found that 44 per cent of households have read the handbook.

Now he aims to get everyone to read it so that the public will have an 'ever ready' mindset to cope with emergencies.

He later helped distribute the handbook to residents at Block 137, Yishun Ring Road. One resident, housewife Roselind Tan, 62, said she realised the importance of basic emergency skills when a fire broke out in her block early this year.

'The book is helpful for the elderly who might not have emergency skills. After reading the book, I think I will buy a fire extinguisher,' she said.

mavistoh@sph.com.sg