Quake Rocks Northern Sumatra

KUALA LUMPUR, July 12 (Bernama) -- An earthquake measuring 4.7 on the Richter scale rocked northern Sumatra in Indonesia at 3.16 pm today, the Malaysian Meteorological Department reported. It said in a statement that the epicentre of the quake was located 35 kilometres northwest of Padang Sidempuan in Indonesia and 284 kilometres southwest of Klang, state of Selangor. The department said tremors were felt in several areas in Selangor, Kuala Lumpur and Putrajaya. It was monitoring the situation and would keep the public informed of developments, it added. Meanwhile, BernamaTV editor D. Arul Rajoo said he felt a tremor at the third floor of Wisma Bernama at 3.20 pm. "I felt the tremor for some five seconds. A colleague near me also felt the vibration," he said. BernamaTV broadcast journalist Johari Abdul Rahman said he also felt the tremor. "I saw a chair sway and ripples in the water in a bottle," he said. Mazizul Dani, another broadcast journalist, said eight employees at the TV station felt the vibrations. "We were shocked to see things on our desks move and glanced at one another. The tremor lasted for a moment," the journalist said. In SHAH ALAM city, Selangor Fire and Rescue operations director Mohd Sani Harul said the department received two calls at 3.30 pm reporting tremors in the state. One of the calls came from the State Secretariat building in Shah Alam and the other from the Selangor State Development Corporation (PKNS) building in Petaling Jaya, he added. "No damage due to the tremors was detected," he said when contacted by Bernama. -- BERNAMA