Tremors felt in parts of Singapore after second Sumatran earthquake

Hetty Musfirah Abdul Khamid, Channel NewsAsia 2 Oct 09;

SINGAPORE : Singaporeans felt another round of tremors after a second major earthquake of at least 6.6 magnitude rocked Indonesia's Sumatra island on Thursday morning.

Police said some 74 buildings were affected. All have been inspected and found to be unaffected by the tremors. An expert also said that although aftershocks are common, they will have minimal or no impact in Singapore.

Things have returned to normal for those working at Tong Eng Building, off Cecil Street in Singapore's central business district. But earlier in the day, workers felt tremors, and those on higher floors rushed for safety.

One worker said: "About 10 o'clock, there was some shaking (lasting) about less than one minute, it was a very short one. Yesterday's... was more serious, that one took about 2-3 minutes."

Another said: "So far from what I see, it is ok. Tong Eng Brothers... the boss came down to check the building, to see if there is any cracks at the corner of the building."

Authorities said they received more than 60 calls from the public about tremors in other locations.

These included Beach Road, Teban Gardens, Pasir Panjang, Toa Payoh, Ang Mo Kio, Yishun, Sengkang, Punggol, Sims Drive, Marine Parade, Tanjong Rhu, Woodlands, Choa Chu Kang and Jurong West.

But there were no reports of injury.

During tremors, members of the public who are indoors should take cover under a table and keep away from items made of glass or any hanging objects. Those who are outdoors should remain in the open, away from buildings.

They should check for any visible sign of structural defects on buildings, such as new cracks, once the vibrations have stopped. If there are none, it is generally safe to remain in the building. Evacuation is only necessary when there are visible signs of structural defects.

The Police said buildings in Singapore are designed to established building codes and are sufficiently robust to withstand tremors caused by distant earthquakes.

The National Environment Agency confirmed an earthquake occurred at about 9.52am in Southern Sumatra, approximately 480 kilometres southwest from Singapore.

Experts said the earthquake is likely linked to Wednesday's temblor - and more aftershocks are expected.

Professor Kerry Sieh, Professor of Geology, Earth Observatory of Singapore, NTU, said: "There will be more aftershocks, but it can go either way - about whether they are going to be felt in Singapore.

"If there are going to be earthquakes felt in Singapore and aftershocks from the earthquakes, they are probably 6.2 or 6.3 or so; if they are smaller than that, it probably would not be felt."

Tiger Airways has suspended all flights to and from Padang until further notice.

All affected Tiger Airways passengers travelling to and from Padang within the next seven days will have the option of a free flight change to a date within seven days from the original departure date.

SilkAir said it is monitoring the situation, and has not delayed or cancelled any flights bound for Indonesia. - CNA/yb/ms

Singapore feels new quake tremors
Straits Times 2 Oct 09;

A second earthquake, less intense than Wednesday's, hits off southern Sumatra

MORE tremors were felt in Singapore yesterday as a second major earthquake of magnitude 6.8 struck off the coast of southern Sumatra.

The authorities received over 60 calls from the public, who reported feeling tremors in parts of the island, including Beach Road, Woodlands, Ang Mo Kio, Marine Parade and Jurong West, at 9.52am.

The second round of tremors felt here was much less intense than the tremors on Wednesday evening, and lasted for only a few seconds.

Police said inspections at 74 buildings yesterday evening showed no signs of structural cracks.

The checks are in addition to the 234 buildings inspected on Wednesday evening.

A senior executive engineer at the Building and Construction Authority (BCA), Mr Stephen Mok, said more than 40 engineers had been deployed by the BCA to private residential homes, commercial buildings and schools island-wide since the first tremors were felt here, after a quake of 7.6 magnitude rocked the west Sumatra city of Padang.

Tremors were also felt in Selangor, Negeri Sembilan, Malacca and Johor.

Experts said aftershocks were a common occurrence after a major quake but would have a minimal impact on Singapore.

Professor Kerry Sieh, director of the Earth Observatory of Singapore at Nanyang Technological University, said more aftershocks could be expected over the next few days and even months, although anything below a magnitude of seven was not likely to have any major impact here.

Singaporean Norlailah Kadola, who has more than 20 relatives living in Padang, has been frantically calling, but has not been able to reach anyone.

The administrative clerk, 54, said: 'We keep calling but there's no response. The lines are cut off. If we can reach one, we will at least know what's happening.'

Indonesian Junaidi Muhamad Zen, 43, who works here as an engineer, managed to contact his family in Padang only after multiple tries. Only his sister's mother-in-law remains uncontactable so far.

'Most of them were at home. They ran out of the house then went back inside when the conditions were more stable,' said the Singapore permanent resident.

With the airport in Padang closed to commercial flights, Tiger Airways flights to and from Padang have been suspended until further notice.

Those affected included an Indonesian couple, who did not realise their flight had been cancelled until reaching Changi Airport yesterday morning.

Ms Ira, 36, said she wanted to be with her relatives in Padang even though they were all safe.

AMRESH GUNASINGHAM, TEH JOO LIN & CAROLYN QUEK