SEGAMAT: Seorang penduduk di Kampung Tengah, di sini, berdepan pengalaman mencemaskan apabila rumah sewa­nya mengalami keretakan pada din­ding dan lantai selepas kejadian gempa bumi lemah yang melanda daerah ini awal pagi semalam.

Menurut Azman Alidin, 44, sewaktu kejadian kira-kira pukul 6.15 pagi, beliau tidak berada di rumah kerana bertugas di Pusat Kawalan Operasi Daerah (PKOD) Jabatan Pertahanan Awam Malaysia (JPAM) di Bandar Segamat.

“Saya merasai gegaran sewaktu berada di PKOD. Gegarannya agak kuat, tetapi kami semua selamat tanpa sebarang kecederaan. Namun, selepas pulang ke rumah sekitar pukul 8 pagi, saya terkejut apabila melihat retakan pada dinding ruang tamu. Di bahagian dapur, lantai dan dinding juga retak. Saya yakin ia berpunca daripada gegaran gempa bumi tadi,” katanya.

Azman berkata, ketika kejadian rumahnya tidak berpenghuni kerana isterinya berada di Labis.

Malah, beliau turut merasai gegaran kedua sekitar pukul 9 pagi ketika berada di rumah, namun bersyukur kerana tiada kerosakan tambahan berlaku.

“Gegaran kedua tidak sekuat yang pertama, hanya tiga hingga empat saat sahaja. Walaupun begitu, perasaan cemas tetap ada. Saya sudah membuat laporan polis dan pihak berkuasa juga hadir untuk memeriksa rumah saya,” katanya.

Azman menyifatkan kejadian itu sebagai satu pengalaman mendebarkan kerana dalam tempoh beberapa jam, bumi Segamat bergegar dua kali. “Semoga Allah melindungi kita semua daripada bencana yang lebih besar,” katanya.

Sementara itu, Ketua Polis Daerah Segamat, Superintenden Ahmad Zamry Marinsah berkata, pihaknya menerima tiga laporan polis berkaitan kerosakan rumah akibat gegaran tersebut.

“Menurut Jabatan Meteoro­logi Malaysia, gempa bumi berukuran 4.1 skala Richter dilaporkan berlaku pada pukul 6.13 pagi. Gegaran itu turut dirasai di beberapa kawasan di Johor, Negeri Sembilan, Melaka dan selatan Pahang.

“Sehingga kini, tiada kece­deraan atau kemalangan jiwa dilaporkan, namun peman­tauan berterusan dilakukan bagi memastikan keadaan selamat,” katanya.

Beliau turut menasihatkan orang ramai supaya bertenang serta melaporkan segera kepada pihak berkuasa sekiranya terdapat kerosakan harta benda atau situasi berbahaya akibat kejadian berkenaan.

Gempa bumi lemah jarang berlaku di Semenanjung, menjadikan kejadian ini antara yang mendapat perhatian meluas, khususnya kerana kesannya turut melibatkan beberapa negeri.tamanya untuk orang awam. – UTUSAN

SEGAMAT – Penduduk di sekitar daerah ini cemas apabila terde­ngar bunyi dentuman kuat se­perti letupan bom sebelum disusuli gegaran akibat gempa bumi awal pagi semalam.

Jemaah yang sedang menunaikan solat subuh di beberapa surau dan masjid pula terkejut apabila turut merasai gegaran.
Seorang penduduk, Firdaus Zazali, 27, berkata, dia terdengar bunyi dentuman kuat seakan-akan letupan bom pada pukul 6.13 pagi dan kemudian berlaku gegaran dalam beberapa saat sahaja.

“Sewaktu kejadian, saya baru menunaikan solat subuh dan sedang bersiap untuk pergi kerja di Kampung Lubok Batu.

“Saya ingat ada rumah yang terbakar atau meletup, saya tinjau dekat luar rumah, tetapi tak ada apa-apa berlaku.

Firdaus yang bekerja pembantu kedai makan berkata, kejadian itu merupakan pengalaman pertamanya.

“Mula-mula gempa berlaku, saya panik juga, tetapi gegaran tu hanya beberapa saat dan sekali sahaja.

“Selepas itu, saya lihat di sosial media penduduk lain juga berkongsi rasa gegaran sama,” katanya.

Seorang lagi penduduk, Tan Boon Eng, 40, dia juga mengalami kejadian itu dan bergegas keluar rumah selepas gegaran.

“Saya selalu bangun awal pagi dan bersenam di luar rumah serta mengambil udara segar waktu pagi.

“Tiba-tiba dengar bunyi seakan-akan guruh di langit sebelum rumah bergegar seperti mahu roboh. Saya takut dan keluar rumah untuk lihat apa terjadi. Gegaran sudah berhenti. Ia jadi sekejap sahaja,” ujarnya.

Seorang suri rumah, Halimah Shamsuddin, 42, pula berkongsi merasai gegaran kali kedua pada pukul 9 pagi semalam.

“Saya tengah memasak di dapur tiba-tiba terasa gegaran di kawasan dapur. Saya telefon suami minta pulang ke rumah di Buloh Kasap kerana saya takut,” katanya.

Imam Surau Kampung Sanglang, Saniman Abdul Samad, 63, berkata, ketika kejadian dia sedang mengimamkan solat subuh kira-kira pukul 6.13 pagi.

“Kami semua sedang solat subuh dan tengah tahiyat akhir sebelum memberi salam, kami rasakan gegaran yang agak kuat.

“Selepas itu bunyi dentuman kuat. Kami semua terkejut dan kemudian nampak kemasan si­ling surau jatuh di dalam ruang solat.

“Mujur tidak kena jemaah ketika solat. Alhamdulillah Allah lindungi kami semua. Ini adalah pengalaman pertama saya merasa gempa bumi,” katanya.

Jemaah surau berkenaan, Basir Pairin, 67, berkata, dia juga terdengar bunyi dentuman kuat dan gegaran berlaku.

“Kami semua yang sedang solat menghabiskan solat terlebih dahulu kerana sudah berada di tahiyat akhir.

“Selepas itu, kami berpandangan sesama sendiri dan tertanya-tanya bunyi apa yang kuat serta gegaran gempa bumi itu.

“Meremang bulu roma saya selepas gegaran itu kerana tidak pernah merasainya sepanjang hidup saya kejadian seperti itu,” katanya.

LISBON: A man has died while assisting wildfire suppression efforts in Portugal, raising the death toll to three as multiple fires continue to rage across the country.

The victim was working for a company contracted to help the northern municipality of Mirandela combat the flames when the fatal accident occurred.

Commander Paulo Santos of the National Civil Protection Authority confirmed the incident involved construction equipment being used for fire containment operations.

The victim was initially cited as being 75 years old, however local city hall officials told AFP he was 65.

Two water-bombing airplanes sent by Sweden through the EU’s civil protection agency were deployed to assist operations in the Sabugal area.

Fire crews were still battling four large fires on Wednesday morning, with the most complex blazes raging in the north and centre of the country.

Over 2,600 firefighters have been deployed to combat the wildfires, supported by about 20 aircraft.

Neighbouring Spain has also experienced severe wildfire activity, with four fatalities and a record 373,000 hectares burned this year.

The fires have been fuelled by heatwaves and drought blamed on climate change.

Since the start of the year, more than 261,000 hectares in Portugal have been destroyed by fires, according to the European Forest Fire Information System, compared to 143,000 hectares in 2024.

Portugal experienced a particularly devastating fire season in 2017, with 563,000 hectares scorched and 119 people killed. – AFP

WASHINGTON: Hurricane Erin was nearing North Carolina's coast Wednesday, threatening huge waves and flooding as the strengthening Category 2 storm triggered mandatory evacuation orders despite its offshore path.

The US state, still reeling from last year's deadly Hurricane Helene, declared an emergency Tuesday as Erin's impacts were predicted to begin from Wednesday evening through Thursday.

"Based on the current forecast, we are anticipating coastal flooding from massive waves, tropical storm force winds and tidal and storm surge for much of the state shoreline, especially the Outer Banks, from this evening through Thursday," Governor Josh Stein told reporters.

As of Wednesday afternoon, Erin was churning northward some 300 miles southeast of North Carolina, packing maximum sustained winds of 110 mph (175 kph), according to the National Hurricane Centre – with the possibility it could still restrengthen to a major hurricane.

Its unusually large size means tropical storm-force winds extend hundreds of miles from its centre, earning it the moniker "Enormous Erin" by hurricane specialist Michael Lowry, who wrote on Substack the US was fortunate to be spared a direct hit.

Erin's low pressure of around 940 millibars at its center is "remarkably low" and a more telling indicator of its destructive potential than wind speed, Lowry added.

Mandatory evacuation orders were issued for Ocracoke and Hatteras Islands. Parts of North Carolina to Virginia were under a tropical storm warning.

Stein urged residents to pack enough food, water and supplies to last up to five days – and to safeguard important documents like insurance policies.

"We have already pre-positioned three swift water rescue teams and 200 National Guard troops to various locations on the coast, along with boats, high clearance vehicles and aircraft," he added.

Highway 12 – which runs through the scenic Outer Banks, a string of low-lying islands and spits already under threat from sea-level rise and erosion – could be left impassable by waves as high as 20 feet (six metres).

Last year's Hurricane Helene caused approximately US$60 billion in damage to North Carolina, equivalent to almost two years of the state's budget, said Stein, who criticised what he called inadequate federal assistance from the administration of President Donald Trump.

Trump has mused about dismantling the Federal Emergency Management Agency, which has long been a target of conspiracy theories from the political right.

Beyond the flooding risks in North Carolina, nearly the whole of the US East Coast meanwhile is threatened by rip currents, powerful surges that run against the tide.

The Atlantic hurricane season, which runs from June 1 to Nov 30, has entered its historical peak.

Despite a relatively quiet start with just four named storms so far, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration continues to forecast an above-normal season.

Scientists say climate change is supercharging tropical cyclones: warmer oceans fuel stronger winds, a warmer atmosphere intensifies rainfall, and higher sea levels magnify storm surge.

There is also some evidence, though less certainty, that climate change is making hurricanes more frequent.--AFP