Nine villages in the Kuala Berang district felt the tremors from the earthquake that occurred last night in the Kenyir Lake area.

The residents of Kampung Jenagor, one of the villages, reported having heard a loud noise followed by tremors at 9.25pm but did not know then that there had been an earthquake.

Other villages where the tremors were felt included Pueh, Gaung, Kepah, Dusun, Batu Belah and Kuala Ping.

Housewife Siti Roslina Hamzeh, 27, of Kampung Jenagor, said she was lying on her bed when the fan started swaying and then she felt several tremors.

The mother of two said she came out of the house and was told by neighbours that they had also felt the tremors.

Last night's earthquake was of 2.7 magnitude. The epicentre of the quake was 16km south-west of Kuala Berang.

“I was shocked this morning when the villages said the tremors were caused by an earthquake,” said Siti Roslina.

Another villager, Mazli Mamat, 38, said that at about 9.30pm yesterday he heard what sounded like an explosion but thought it was thunder.

“Then we heard an aeroplane. We were confused as to whether the sound came from the aeroplane or was thunder. The tremors lasted only a short while.

“We were wondering what caused the tremors. This morning, neighbours were talking of the tremors having been caused by an earthquake at the Kenyir Lake,” he said.

Meanwhile, a preliminary inspection of the Sultan Mahmud Hydro Electric Power Station in Kenyir (Kenyir Dam) has revealed that there is no physical impact, as a result of yesterday’s weak earthquake of 2.7 magnitude on the Ritcher scale, detected in Tasik Kenyir.

“There are no signs of structural damage that may affect the dam’s integrity and stability," said Tenaga Nasional Bhd (TNB) which built and owned the dam.

It said during the earthquake, which occured at 9.25pm yesterday and reported by the Malaysian Metrological Department, the dam’s instrumentation detected very low seismic activity, well below the safe dam design limit.

“Due to the incident, a thorough inspection of the dam and its associated facilities is being carried out,” it said in a statement today.

All the dams built by TNB are designed to withstand low to moderate seismic activity in accordance with international standards.

- Bernama