A weak earthquake measuring magnitude 3.3 was detected in the Kuamut area of Kinabatangan, Sabah, at 5.32am on 26 September, and the Malaysian Meteorological Department (MetMalaysia) said the tremor posed no tsunami threat to Malaysia, The Star reported.
The department placed the epicentre at 5.1 degrees north and 116.8 degrees east at a depth of 118km, about 34km south-west of Tongod in Sabah (Astro Awani).
Six firefighters from the Kinabatangan Fire and Rescue Station began patrols and monitoring at 6.26am, checking the Sabah Economic Development Corporation (SEDCO) premises, the Bukit Garam Library, Bukit Garam Point and other areas identified as being at risk, The Sun said.
“The inspection found no collapses or structural damage to any of the buildings checked,” station chief Suriyadi Drawis said. He said the team advised local residents to stay alert in case aftershocks followed.
Sabah records frequent low-magnitude tremors because the state sits close to active seismic zones in the region, and most of the quakes recorded there are too weak to cause serious damage. Scientists say the faults beneath the mountainous Keningau and Tambunan districts are poorly understood, and a stronger tremor could trigger landslides and debris flows that cut off roads and other infrastructure, researchers told SCMP.
Kinabatangan has been shaken before. A magnitude 3.6 tremor struck the same Kuamut area at 11.07pm on 17 July at a depth of 289km, about 199km north of Tarakan and 74km west of Lahad Datu, with weak shaking possible in Lahad Datu and surrounding areas, records from Sabah Media show.
The Kinabatangan detection also follows a magnitude 3.4 tremor that hit Keningau at 9.31am on 3 September at a depth of 10km. Natural Resources and Environmental Sustainability Minister Datuk Seri Arthur Joseph Kurup said MetMalaysia received 436 reports of tremors from the public by 11.30am that day, and described the event as part of the release of local tectonic energy in the region.
Seismic monitoring records showed Keningau had recorded a series of weak earthquakes before that, including in 2019, in 2023 and on 6 October 2024. Seven firefighters from the Keningau Fire and Rescue Station inspected four buildings after the 3 September tremor and found no structural damage.
Firefighters found no structural damage at the Kinabatangan sites they inspected on 26 September. MetMalaysia has advised the public to get updates on earthquakes through its official channels, including the mygempa.met.gov.my portal.
Separately, a magnitude 6.4 earthquake struck the Loyalty Islands near Australia at 5.23am, centred at 21.2 degrees south and 168.7 degrees east at a depth of 47km, about 988km south-west of Nadi, Fiji. The department said that quake also posed no tsunami threat to Malaysia.
