Malaysia tremors could be due to ancient fault lines in Sumatra, experts say
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Experts say earthquakes in Indonesia, such as this magnitude-7 that struck Bali on April 14, are also being felt in Peninsular Malaysia.
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PETALING JAYA – Earthquakes in Peninsular Malaysia were potentially caused by the reactivation of ancient fault lines following high-magnitude earthquakes in Sumatra, Indonesia, according to the Meteorological Department (MetMalaysia).
It said several areas such as Bukit Tinggi and Jerantut in Pahang, as well as Kuala Pilah in Negeri Sembilan, were among the areas affected by these fault lines.
“Malaysia is located close to two seismically active plate collision boundaries, which are between the Indo-Australian Plate and the Eurasian Plate to the west and the collision boundary between the Eurasian Plate and the Philippine Sea Plate to the east,” said MetMalaysia.
“The tremors of a high-magnitude earthquake that occurred and centred on these plates could be felt in Malaysia. Tremors felt on the west coast of Peninsular Malaysia are usually caused by large-magnitude earthquakes centred on Sumatra and the Andaman Sea,” it said.
Some of the latest earthquakes originating in Indonesia
MetMalaysia said that in Sabah, local earthquakes are possible as the fault lines within the state’s regions are still active.
“The occurrence of earthquakes in Malaysia is usually more concentrated in Sabah due to the existence of several active faults, for example, the Mensaban fault line and the Lobou-Lobou fault line,” it added.
MetMalaysia said a 2017 study on active faults in Peninsular Malaysia also suggests that the Bukit Tinggi fault zone is considered to be active and a potential source of future earthquakes.
It also revealed that areas outside the Bukit Tinggi, Benus and Karak faults are active too.
It said from 2017, Peninsular Malaysia has experienced mild earthquakes. Virtually all earthquakes recorded in the peninsula were under magnitude 5.
“However, the recognition of active faults exhibiting active tectonic landforms suggests that these faults have produced damaging earthquakes before and have potential to trigger similar tremors in the future,” said MetMalaysia.
A 2021 study from the Prince of Songkla University found that Peninsular Malaysia is still facing earthquake risks, not only from regional tectonics but also from local tectonics.
“For the local tectonic setting, there are a number of pre-existing, assumed dormant faults (and fault zones) which have been reactivated, causing local tectonic earthquakes,” said the study’s authors, Dr Dony Adriansyah Nazaruddin and Dr Helmut Duerrast.
According to data from MetMalaysia, there have been 12 local earthquakes in Malaysia since 2021.
THE STAR/ASIA NEWS NETWORK
