7.1 Magnitude Quake Strikes Off Sabah Coast, No Damage

A magnitude 7.1 earthquake struck off the northern coast of Sabah state in eastern Malaysia early Monday, sending mild tremors through nearby areas including Kota Kinabalu but causing no reported damage or injuries, according to the United States Geological Survey.

The quake occurred at 12:57 a.m. local time, with its epicenter located about 62 kilometers west of Kudat in the South China Sea, at a depth of approximately 620 kilometers. The USGS reported the event's magnitude at 7.1, though some agencies, including the German Research Centre for Geosciences, initially assessed it at a similar level before revising it slightly lower to 6.8 following further analysis. The deep focus of the earthquake, far beneath the Earth's surface, limited the intensity of shaking on land, experts noted.

Residents in Kota Kinabalu, Putatan and surrounding regions described feeling brief tremors lasting three to 10 seconds. One resident in Putatan, Jalius Majin, recounted waking to his sofa shaking and ceiling fan swinging in his fifth-floor apartment. "I woke up my wife and three children and rushed down the emergency staircase to the car parking area," he said. Others reported wardrobe doors...