PETALING JAYA — A 3.5-magnitude tremor was recorded off the waters near Batu Pahat, Johor, at 9.04am on Saturday, according to the Malaysian Meteorological Department (MetMalaysia). The epicentre was located about 25km south-east of Batu Pahat, roughly 120km north of Singapore, at coordinates 1.7°N and 103.1°E with a depth of 10km.
“Tremors may have been felt in areas around Batu Pahat. The department will continue to monitor the situation,” MetMalaysia said in a statement.
The incident comes after a string of earthquakes hit Johor in recent weeks. On Aug 24, a 4.1-magnitude quake was recorded 5km west of Segamat at a depth of 10km, with tremors felt as far away as Negeri Sembilan and Melaka. Segamat lies about 180km from Singapore. Since then, Johor has experienced at least eight smaller tremors, ranging between 2.5 and 3.5 in magnitude. One of these, on Aug 30, caused minor damage to some government buildings.
Experts believe the quakes are the result of stress release along a minor fault within the Sunda plate, a tectonic plate covering much of Southeast Asia, including Malaysia, Singapore, Vietnam, Cambodia, Indonesia, and parts of the South China Sea and Andaman Sea. A Malaysian seismology expert said aftershocks could continue until the built-up seismic energy is fully released.