OFFICIAL PORTAL
PRIME MINISTER'S DEPARTMENT
NATIONAL DISASTER MANAGEMENT AGENCY
PRIME MINISTER'S DEPARTMENT
NATIONAL DISASTER MANAGEMENT AGENCY
MANILA, Jan 23 — A magnitude 5.8 quake struck off the central Philippines today, the United States Geological Survey (USGS) said, leaving cracks on buildings and houses.
The earthquake had a depth of 25 kilometres (16 miles) off the town of San Francisco in Southern Leyte province, USGS added.
San Francisco town rescuer Roxanne Sandoval told AFP there were no immediate reports of casualties, but “huge” cracks were observed on the walls of their municipal building.
“It was a strong shake that lasted up to one minute,” Sandoval said.
“I thought it was just a strong wind, but then I felt the ground and it was as if it was spinning.”
Sandoval said a team was deployed to check the severity of damage to roads and houses reported by residents.
Quakes are a daily occurrence in the Philippines, which sits along the Pacific “Ring of Fire”, an arc of intense seismic and volcanic activity that stretches from Japan through Southeast Asia and across the Pacific basin.
Most are too weak to be felt by humans, but strong and destructive quakes come at random with no technology available to predict when and where they will happen. — AFP
MANILA: Gempa bumi berkekuatan 5.8 magnitud melanda luar pesisir tengah Filipina hari ini, menurut Kajian Geologi Amerika Syarikat (USGS), menyebabkan retakan pada struktur bangunan dan kediaman.
Menurut USGS, gempa bumi itu berlaku pada kedalaman 25 kilometer dari bandar San Francisco di wilayah Leyte Selatan.
Pasukan penyelamat dari bandar San Francisco, Roxanne Sandoval, memberitahu AFP, tiada laporan segera mengenai mangsa yang terkorban, namun 'retakan besar' kelihatan pada dinding bangunan majlis perbandaran.
"Gempa bumi itu adalah gegaran kuat berlaku selama satu minit.
"Pada mulanya saya menyangka hanya angin kencang, tetapi kemudian berasa bangunan bergegar," katanya.
Sandoval berkata, satu pasukan dihantar untuk memeriksa tahap kerosakan jalan raya dan rumah yang dilaporkan penduduk.
Negara kepulauan itu terletak di 'Lingkaran Api' Pasifik, di mana aktiviti gunung berapi dan gempa bumi adalah perkara biasa.
Ia adalah lengkungan aktiviti seismik dan gunung berapi intensif yang membentang dari Jepun melalui Asia Tenggara dan merentasi lembangan Pasifik.
Kebanyakan gempa terlalu lemah dirasai oleh manusia, tetapi gempa bumi yang kuat dan membawa kerosakkan secara rawak tanpa teknologi yang dapat meramalkan bila dan di mana ia akan berlaku.
KUCHING: Keadaan banjir di daerah Saratok setakat petang ini masih kekal dengan sebuah pusat pemindahan sementara (PPS) di Dewan Rumah Dayak yang dibuka bagi menempatkan sejumlah 91 mangsa.
Sekretariat Jawatankuasa Pengurusan Bencana Negeri (JPBN) Sarawak memaklumkan, setakat 4 petang, sejumlah 21 keluarga daripada Rumah Tembawai Kapok yang dilanda banjir sejak Ahad masih berlindung di PPS tersebut.
JPBN Sarawak turut memaklumkan 11 lokasi di seluruh negeri yang berisiko mengalami banjir turut dipantau dari semasa ke semasa oleh pihak Angkatan Pertahanan Awam Malaysia (APM).
Setakat ini, trend air di bahagian Kuching menunjukkan penurunan manakala di daerah Selangau, Kanowit, Dalat dan Marudi menunjukkan peningkatan.
Sementara itu, Pusat Gerakan Operasi Sarawak Jabatan Bomba dan Penyelamat Malaysia memaklumkan menerima panggilan pada 11.12 pagi tadi untuk memindahkan mangsa banjir di Sekolah Kebangsaan Ranggong Ulu Niah, Miri.
Menurut makluman itu sebanyak 14 orang guru telah terperangkap di sekolah itu, apabila laluan keluar ke jalan utama telah dilimpahi air akibat banjir kilat dan kesemua mereka telah selamat dipindahkan oleh pihak bomba menggunakan kenderaan pacuan empat roda.
- BERNAMA
MIRI (Jan 23): Flood waters have rendered the Beluru-Long Lama road in Beluru district impassable to small vehicles, particularly in low-lying areas, the Fire and Rescue Department (Bomba) reported today.
The affected stretch lies along Sungai Bok in Bakong, near Lapok Town in Beluru district. “The main road to villages and longhouses around Bakong to Long Lama has been cut off.
“The water level is still rising because the weather is still raining,” said Bomba in a statement.
The flood has severed access to seven longhouses and a primary school, SK Sungai Seputi.
However, five other longhouses remain accessible, according to a scouting team from Lopeng Bomba Station monitoring the situation.
In Niah, flash floods due to prolonged heavy rain stranded 14 teachers at SK Rumah Ranggong in Ulu Niah around noon today.
Batu Niah Bomba received a distress call at 11.12am, requesting assistance to evacuate the teachers after the access road to the school was flooded.
“The teachers requested transportation assistance to take them out to the main road because the road was flooded,” Bomba said.
A team from the Batu Niah Bomba station was dispatched to the scene, located approximately 33km away from the station, before safely evacuating the teachers.
KLANG: The chemical recycling factory at Sungai Kapar Indah where a gas explosion happened on Monday has been ordered to tighten its standard operating procedure by the Selangor Environment Department (DOE).
Selangor DOE director Nor Aziah Jaafar said the factory administration will have to find ways to ensure such an incident does not happen again.
“We had inspected the factory on Jan 6 and found everything in order. The housekeeping was proper and there was no breach of any DOE regulations and requirements,’’ said Nor Aziah.
Since the recycling factory dealt with chemicals, it was licensed by the DOE.
Nor Aziah said that preliminary investigations showed that the explosion was an accident due to a leakage during the chemical transfer process.
“The explosion happened very quickly and the factory was not able to activate its emergency response,” she said.
Nor Aziah added that the air quality was not affected following the explosion.
The explosion at the factory in Sungai Kapar Indah had rocked the area and shocked nearby residents, but luckily, no one was injured.
Hours later, another explosion and a fire happened at a gas storage factory at Taman Aman Perdana.
However, since no chemicals were involved, it fell under the jurisdiction of the Fire and Rescue Department.
Selangor Fire Department assistant director Ahmad Mukhlis Mukhtar said the department’s forensic team was identifying what caused the mishap.
Meanwhile, the Occupational Safety and Health Department registered safety and health officer Mogana Kumar Lachumanan said a risk assessment by a qualified officer must first be carried out before initiating preventive measures in factories.
“Once the risk assessment is done, you can identify potential risks and determine what the controls ought to be put in place,’’ said Mogana Kumar.
He added that chemical and gas-related fires and explosions could be caused by leaks or sparks from tools used to carry out work in the area where the chemical or gas was stored.