{"id":162980,"date":"2022-03-06T15:01:27","date_gmt":"2022-03-06T15:01:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/news.iium.edu.my\/?p=162980"},"modified":"2022-03-06T15:01:34","modified_gmt":"2022-03-06T15:01:34","slug":"malaysia-and-the-ring-of-fire","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/news.iium.edu.my\/?p=162980","title":{"rendered":"Malaysia and the Ring of Fire"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

By Irdina Zainudin<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

On 25th February 2022<\/a>, Malaysia was hit by the sudden tremors caused by an earthquake of 6.2 magnitude that struck West Sumatra at 9:43 am local time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

According to reports, the earthquakes were felt in Kuala Lumpur, Putrajaya, Shah Alam, Petaling Jaya and Klang. Furthermore, the Meteorology Department also reported that the tremors were felt in Selangor, Negeri Sembilan, Perak and Johor. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Fortunately, no casualty was reported from the incident. However, the people in West Sumatra were not as lucky as there were seven casualties caused by the 6.2 magnitude earthquake, as reported by News Strait Times<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Regardless, what caused the earthquake to happen in the first\nplace? And why, despite the tremors, Malaysia was not hit by an earthquake as\nfrequently as their neighbours?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The earthquake that happened in West Sumatra is caused by a\nphenomenon called the Ring of Fire.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

According to the United States Geological Survey<\/a> (USGC) and National Geographic<\/a>, the Ring of Fire, also known as Circum Pacific-Belt, is a 40,000 kilometres path of volcanic arcs and oceanic trenches that encircled the Pacific Ocean, which is a frequent zone for earthquakes and volcanic eruptions. The Ring of Fire is formed due to the movement of tectonic plates<\/a> (also known as a lithospheric plate<\/a>, which is a massive, irregularly shaped slab of solid rock made up of both continental and oceanic lithosphere), where the oceanic plates slid under the continental plate. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Map\n\nDescription
Map of Ring of Fire by <\/em>USGS<\/em><\/a>. Despite its name, the Ring of Fire is shaped of a semi-circle, or more accurately, the shape of a seahorse.<\/em> <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"Map\n\nDescription
Map of Tectonic Plates by <\/em>Geology.com<\/em><\/a> <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Furthermore, the Ring of\nFire is in the area where the Pacific Plate met with several other surrounding\ntectonic plates like Juan de Fuca, Cocos, Indian-Australian, Nazca, North\nAmerica, and Philippines Plates. The location of the Pacific Plate being\nsurrounded by multiple tectonic plates led to the tremors of the earthquakes\ndue to the movements of the tectonic plates.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Ring of Fire got its\nname from the number of volcanoes located there, which amounted to 75%\nof Earths volcanoes<\/a>, which accounted for more than 450\nvolcanoes. Other than that, the Ring of Fire is the zone the most\nearthquake activities happen<\/a>, which equals 90% more than\nany other area on Earth.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Fortunately, unlike most of the neighbouring countries, Malaysia is not among the countries that are included in the Ring of Fire, as it is barely situated just outside of the belt. Regardless, it does not spare Malaysia from the tremors that it felt from the earthquakes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Arguably, even though\nMalaysia is not in the Ring of Fire, Malaysia did have past earthquakes events.\nFor example, the earthquake\nthat hit Ranau, Sabah<\/a> on 5 June 2015 with 6.2 magnitude, and\naround the areas in Bentong,\nJanda Baik and Bukit Tinggi at Pahang<\/a> around November 2007 until\nMei 2008 with 3.5 magnitude. Regardless, both cases are isolated cases, and it\nis not caused by the Ring of Fire. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hence, in my opinion, the Malaysian government should be more prepared for these events to ensure less damage to public properties, especially the hospital by implementing an earthquake-resistant structure to the buildings. Next, Malaysia should also implement earthquakes benchmarks (Penanda Aras Gempa Bumi (PAG))<\/em> at every spot that would be susceptible to earthquakes, as Pahang did by implementing 13 PAGs in Bentong district after it faced 29 earthquakes in 2007 as reported by Kosmo<\/a>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The government and as well as the citizens should be more aware of the tremors that happened and how to act accordingly for the sake of safety. While Malaysia is out of the Ring of Fire, we must realise that the country is still susceptible to the aftereffect of the earthquakes that happened in neighbouring countries like Indonesia and Philippines.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Source: News reports & official reports <\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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