KUALA LUMPUR, May 11 — A magnitude 6.0 earthquake struck northern Sumatra, Indonesia earlier this afternoon, sending tremors across the Straits of Malacca and rattling buildings as far away as Penang.
According to the German Research Center for Geosciences (GFZ), the quake struck at 4.57pm local time at a depth of 89km.
“No tsunami threat to Malaysia.
“The tremors were felt in most areas in the west coast of peninsular Malaysia,” the Malaysian Meteorological Department (MetMalaysia) said in a statement.
It added that it will continue to monitor the situation.
Several X users, namely those in Penang, took to the social media platform to share their observations.
“At first I couldn’t believe it. Thought I was dizzy from the fever. Then I looked at my water bottle — even the water inside was shaking,” Faresya_Muhamad said.
“The siren sounded again just now. This time, Aceh was hit by a 5.8 magnitude earthquake. The tremors were felt as far as Penang,” Izwan Izzat posted on X.
Another X user called Abeywan said: “It’s true, man, it was an earthquake. It was really strong, even Penang felt it for quite a while”.
Penang Fire and Rescue Department director Mohamad Shoki Hamzah confirmed receiving two reports of tremors believed to be connected to the Sumatran quake, national news agency Bernama reported this evening.
“So far, the fire department has received two phone calls from members of the public in a residential area in Block 1, Taman Selatan in Jelutong and a hotel in George Town at 5.15 pm this evening reporting tremors in their residential area.
“The Fire Department was sent to the location to conduct further inspections and the operations commander reported that the locations were safe and there were no structural damages to the buildings involved,” he was quoted as saying.
A massive undersea earthquake off the coast of Sumatra over 20 years ago triggered one of the deadliest tsunamis for the region.
The magnitude 9.1 quake unleashed waves that devastated coastal communities across the Indian Ocean on December 26, 2004 – including Penang.
While Malaysia was not among the worst-hit, Penang saw significant impact: at least 52 people were killed nationwide, with many of the deaths occurring on beaches in Batu Ferringhi and Balik Pulau.
Waves up to three metres high swept away beachgoers, damaged property, and caused panic among residents.
The 2004 tsunami remains one of Malaysia’s worst natural disasters, and it heightened awareness of the region’s vulnerability to seismic events in the Andaman Sea.