Janda Baik Villagers Want Good Explanation On Tremors

obmar · Site Admin Joined: 14 Apr 2006 Posts: 5697

January 16, 2008 22:31 PM
http://www.bernama.com.my/bernama...ews/news.php?id=308316&cat=et

Janda Baik Villagers Want Good Explanation On Tremors

BENTONG, Jan 16 (Bernama) -- Residents of Kampung Janda Baik want the team probing tremors in Bukit Tinggi to come up with a good explanation for them.

Janda Baik Village Development and Security Committee (JKKK) member Mej (rtd) Husin Nordin said this was because government agency officers who met residents yesterday failed to provide convincing answers for the tremors.

"Telling us that the tremors were felt because the village is in the Bukit Tinggi fault zone is something that we also know about."

He said the officers did not seem concerned with their fears and trauma as tremors were something which they were not used to.

"I have been staying here for 14 years and tremors are something new to me. The tremors are occurring almost daily. They may be minor tremors as with the cracks but they can become big over time," he told Bernama here today.

Unhappy with the officers' poor explanation, the villagers who had gathered since morning, began complaining and left the briefing session.

Husin hoped the probe team could provide a better explanation once they had checked several locations.

He said the first tremor on Nov 30 last year sounded like an explosion followed by minor tremors.

Sekolah Menengah Kebangsaan (SMK) Bukit Tinggi principal Nordin Mohamed said since the minor tremors, the students and teachers had been told to be prepared for the worst.

He said they had been given emergency training to avoid panic, adding that the tremors resulted in cracks to the wall of the science laboratory.

Meanwhile, Meteorological Department officer Alwi Bahari said the visiting group yesterday comprised officers from the Mineral and Geoscience Department, Public Works Department, National Security Council and geology lecturers from four local universities.

The four areas worst hit by the tremors were Kampung Chemperoh, Kampung Bukit Tinggi, Kampung Janda Baik and SMK Janda Baik.

Geology officer Mohd Badzran Mat Taib said the minor tremors felt by Bukit Tinggi villagers were due to the pressure on the soil structure, adding that tremors were influenced by the movement of rocks and the tectonic plates.

"We are still studying the situation in Bukit Tinggi. There is no quick answer to this as we do not want to give the wrong information," he added.

On the possibility that the tremors were linked to those in Sumatra, Indonesia, he said it was mere hypothesis since Malaysia is located close to the Sumatra Sea and Indian Ocean, areas prone to earthquakes.

The first tremor in Bukit Tinggi at 10.15am and 8.47pm on Nov 30 measured 3.5 on the Richter scale followed by the second at 6.12pm on Dec 4 (3.0) and minor tremors on Dec 5, 6, 9, 12 and 13.

A minor tremor with a magnitude of 2.5 occurred at 10.24am on Jan 13 followed by another at 11.45pm yesterday (Jan 15), measuring 3.1 on the Richter scale.

-- BERNAMA