A geologist has advised residents around Lahad Datu to be on the alert to face any possibility of a bigger earthquake occurring.

Prof Felix Tongkul from Universiti Malaysia Sabah (UMS) said this following the three weak earthquakes that occurred in Darvel Bay, near Lahad Datu on Feb 16, Feb 23, and this morning respectively.

"This incident may lead to two possibilities, one is the release of seismic energy stored on a small scale in the area and if this continues it can prevent the release of greater energy in the future.

"The second possibility is that it is a marker for a bigger earthquake. The small tremors are referred to as preliminary earthquake (foreshock). This means the preliminary earthquake can happen a few days or several weeks before a major earthquake occurs... whatever the possibility, residents around Lahad Datu are advised to be vigilant," he said in a statement today.

Meanwhile, the Malaysian Meteorological Department in a statement said it shared the same views as Felix.

"We need to be alert to the second possibility raised by Felix...where a stronger earthquake of up to 6.0 on the Richter scale can occur as we had highlighted before, after the earthquake in Ranau (last June)," it said.

On Feb 16, a weak earthquake measuring 3.3 on the Richter scale hit the coast off Lahad Datu, while a quake measuring 3.5 occurred on Tuesday and this morning in Lahad Datu.

- Bernama