If you’ve been scrolling across social media in the past 24 hours, then chances are you may have stumbled across multiple screenshots of an alert that was issued by American search engine giant, Google, warning of an earthquake.
Google Alert issued last night over 6.5 magnitude earthquake in Indonesia
A closer look will tell you that the naturally occurring phenomenon, which measured at around an estimated magnitude of 6.5 on the Richter scale, took place 85 kilometres from Padang Sidempuan City in North Sumatera, Indonesia. Among the countries that were expected to be affected by tremors from the earthquake include Malaysia, Singapore, and even Thailand up north.
This was further corroborated by the European-Mediterranean Seismological Centre, who mentioned that crowdsourced data indicates that an earthquake was felt in the Kuala Lumpur area.
No immediate danger posed
Quoting the Malaysian Meteorological Department (MetMalaysia), local newspaper Malay Mail has obtained confirmation that a strong earthquake, measuring a magnitude of 6.2, did indeed strike North Sumatera, Indonesia at around 10.59pm.
Muhammad Helmi Abdullah, director general of MetMalaysia, said that the earthquake had a depth of 86 kilometres, and occurred 84km southwest of Padang Sidempuan.
Consequently, tremors were felt in Kuala Lumpur, Selangor, Putrajaya, Perak, Negeri Sembilan, Melaka, and even Johor. With that said, the phenomenon posed no tsunami threat locally.
On the other hand, it was also confirmed by the Kuala Lumpur Fire and Rescue Department (JPBM) that a resident of Pudu Impian 1 Apartment along Jalan Cheras had placed a call in connection to the tremors felt. In response, a fire team along with a machine were dispatched to the scene to monitor the situation.
Over on Twitter, the hashtag #earthquake became a trending topic in Malaysian social media circles, with many living in the aforementioned states confirming that they have experienced the tremors.
What? Also I didn't even know this android feature exists #Malaysia #Earthquake pic.twitter.com/4PGuDVmBKI
— JaneKa's Poet | Artist (@pixiemermaid) April 3, 2023
Google alert services just flashed my cellphone with this warning of an earthquake within a three hundred mile distance. #earthquake #warning #publicsafety pic.twitter.com/JaxXHDAbHC
— Simon C13 (@simonchoy13) April 3, 2023
#Earthquake (#gempa bumi) possibly felt
31 sec ago in #Malaysia? pic.twitter.com/rtPgoOoRXv— Shanddd_17 (@Shand_VIP) April 3, 2023
Prior to this on April 2nd, a separate 5.8 magnitude offshore-earthquake also struck Indonesia close to the West Nusa Tenggara province at around 3.40pm local time. With that said, the earthquake posed no tsunami potential, reports The Star.
Earthquakes are a frequent phenomenon experienced in Indonesia, due to the country’s proximity on what is known as the Pacific ‘Ring of Fire’, where tectonic plates are known to collide and result in seismic activity.
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