KUALA LUMPUR: Following the quake tragedy in Sabah, there have been concerns that an earthquake may also hit Kuala Lumpur and according to a geological expert, such misgivings are not misplaced.

This is because the federal capital is located near the epicentres of ancient fault line zones, Universiti Malaya Geology Department associate professor Mustaffa Kamal Shuib told The Malaysian Insider.

These fault lines seem to have been reactivated by active tectonic plate boundaries and this, he said, was a cause for concern, especially since many structures in the city were not built and designed to withstand earthquakes.

“The general perception has always been that Peninsular Malaysia was safe because we are far from the Pacific Ring of Fire which surrounds us, but in recent years, there is evidence of earthquakes with focal points or epicentres right under our feet, due to the reactivation of old fault lines,” said Mustaffa.

Asked what the triggers are for the reactivation of fault lines, Mustaffa said Malaysia is surrounded by so many active tectonic plate boundaries and the Sunda Shelf, which the country sits on, is being compressed.

Peninsular Malaysia is at the centre of the shelf, also known as Sundaland, which is absorbing all the stress from around it.

“Sooner or later, the earth has to find some release by breaking through old fault line systems,” said Mustaffa whose field of research is structural geology and tectonics.

Mustaffa said he and his team first detected epicentres in 2007 and 2009 in Bukit Tinggi, near Genting Highlands, in Pahang, but some of these occurred to the west, near the KL fault zone.

The quakes were not strong but it is hard to say if they will increase in magnitude in future, he said.

“The strongest one we have detected so far is a magnitude of 3.5 in Bukit Tinggi. — The Malaysian Insider

This article first appeared in The Edge Financial Daily, on June 12, 2015.