MALAYSIANS would think that earthquakes happening here are unusual, almost an alien concept. This is no surprise, given that, from childhood, one is told that the country is blessed with a stable geology. That may be true of the peninsula, but Sabah has had several since the last big one in 1979. And, this recent one with the epicentre near Ranau, with its many aftershocks, is even bigger, at 5.9 on the Richter scale. While much focus is on the stranded on Mount Kinabalu, Ranau itself is looking grim, with cracked roads and the destruction of buildings. However, deaths have been reported from the mountain, with climbers and guides falling victim to the early morning tremors and some are still missing. In the Ranau and Kundasang areas, there have been water disruptions affecting 20,000 customers because the water drainage system has been damaged.
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