Thirty-six firefighters were deployed to nine locations in Penang after tremors from a 6.4-magnitude North Sumatra earthquake were reported, with no casualties.
GEORGE TOWN: The Penang Fire and Rescue Department received nine calls over tremors felt in the state following a 6.4-magnitude earthquake in North Sumatra, Indonesia, at 6.54pm today.
Penang Fire and Rescue Department assistant director of Firefighting and Rescue Operations John Sagun Francis said the department received the nine calls at around 8pm.
“Nine calls so far. Earlier, we received five,” he told reporters in a text message.
He said personnel from six fire stations were deployed to the nine locations to monitor the situation, involving 36 personnel, including supervisors.
The reports involved locations in five districts, namely the Southwest District, Northeast District, Seberang Perai Tengah, Seberang Perai Utara and Seberang Perai Selatan.
The nine locations were Baystar Condominium and One Precinct in the Southwest District; Apartment Manggis, Summer Place Condominium and Apartment Pelangi Gate in the Northeast District; Pacific Megamall flats in Seberang Perai Tengah; Marminton Homes and Crown Plaza Hotel Butterworth in Seberang Perai Utara; and TF AMD Microelectronics in Batu Kawan.
The fire stations involved were Bayan Baru, Lebuh Pantai, Jalan Perak, Perai, Butterworth and Batu Kawan.
John said the personnel were deployed after the department’s operations centre received the reports through MERS999.
The operation involved four fire and rescue tenders, two light fire and rescue tenders and three emergency medical rescue service vehicles.
No casualties were reported, while operations were still ongoing as of the latest update.
The department said the tremors were caused by an earthquake in Indonesia.
The earthquake struck North Sumatra at 6.54pm, with the tremors felt in several parts of Penang.
The Malaysian Meteorological Department said the earthquake measured 6.4 in magnitude and occurred at a depth of 154km.
