7.3 Magnitude Earthquake in Philippines Causes Tremors in Sabah

The Celebes Sea off southeast Philippines was struck with a major magnitude 7.3 undersea earthquake earlier this afternoon and tremors were felt all the way to the east coast of Sabah, including Sandakan, Tawau as well as Kota Kinabalu.

Image: The Straits Times / USGS

Many people ran out of multi-storey buildings after they felt the buildings shaking following tremors which lasted for about 10 seconds. A civil servant, whose office was located on the third floor, said he felt his chair shaking and had a headache when he stood up. “The first thing that came to mind was to get out of the office, and I used the stairs to run down three floors,” he said.

According to the US Geological Survey, the quake was measured at a depth of 617km, about 466km east of Semporna. However, seismologists said it was far too deep to cause any damage and casualties. The Malaysian Meteorological Department also confirmed in a statement on its Facebook page that there is no tsunami threat.