Sabah quake strongest to hit Malaysia in 11 years, tremors felt in Singapore

The 6.8 magnitude earthquake that struck off the coast of Sabah early Monday morning is the strongest to hit Malaysia in over a decade.Malaysian Meteorological Depart­ment Director General Mohd Hisham Mohd Anip said that based on the department’s records, the previous strongest earthquake in the country occurred on June 5, 2015, in Ranau, Sabah.The 6.0-magnitude temblor in Ranau claimed 18 lives and is still regarded as one of the most notable earthquakes in the country’s history.According to Mohd Hisham, Monday’s quake occurred off Sabah’s coast because the state lies near the Pacific Ring of Fire, a seismically active zone formed by the movement of Earth’s tectonic plates.A beach in the Malaysian state of Sabah, which lies near the Pacific Ring of Fire. Photo: Shutterstock“We are monitoring the situation closely and will continue to do so. No aftershocks have been recorded so far,” he told Bernama.