KUALA LUMPUR: The technical committee on earthquakes should be reactivated to coordinate studies and reassess seismic risks in Malaysia following the recent tremors, department of minerals and geoscience's (JMG) director-general Zamri Ramli said.

He said the committee, coordinated under the National Disaster Management Agency (Nadma), could review existing data to support more accurate studies and action plans.

He proposed that the committee include representatives from JMG, the meteorological department, the survey and mapping department (Jupem), the public works department, academics and professional bodies.

"This committee is important to refine existing data on tectonic activity and potentially active fault lines," he told Bernama.

The committee was last active in 2020.

Zamri said the series of tremors in Segamat was an unexpected sign, caused by tectonic activity that released internal stress along a fault zone.

He said that Malaysia's old fault lines, estimated to be between 60 million and 200 million years old, must be re-examined.

"The focus will be on reviewing historical fault characteristics and determining their slip rates and lengths to estimate possible earthquake magnitudes," he said.

He stressed the importance of microzonation studies and updated fault mapping, noting that earthquake impacts, even with similar magnitudes, can vary depending on location.

JMG has begun fieldwork in Johor, starting in Segamat with plans to continue in other areas identified as vulnerable.

Zamri said several parts of Malaysia faced potential risk, in addition to the transboundary effects of earthquakes from neighbouring countries.

He also highlighted the role of Jupem's geodesy expertise in determining whether fault movement rates have changed after the tremors.

Six minor earthquakes have been recorded since Aug 24: a 4.1 magnitude tremor in Segamat, followed by a 2.8 magnitude tremor the same morning, and others on Aug 27 (3.2), Aug 28 (2.5), Aug 29 (3.4) and Aug 30 (2.7).