Technical Notes

2019 TN01/1 of 2

Should structures in Sarawak be designed for seismic events?

Background

Malaysia is located on the Eurasian Plate, adjacent to the Pacific Ring of Fire. Historically,
Malaysia is widely perceived as a country free from earthquakes. However, recent earthquake
events such as the Ranau earthquake in Sabah in 2015, with a magnitude of 6.0, have raised
concerns on the need for structures in Malaysia to be designed for seismic events. For
buildings and infrastructure of national importance such as hospitals, airports, military bases,
power plants, communication facilities and major bridges, it makes sense to protect these
structures from possible seismic destruction by considering appropriate seismic loads in the
structural design.

Eurocode 8

Records for earthquake events in Malaysia and in Sarawak started way back in 1805 and 1965
respectively. A working group committee was formed by the Department of Standards
Malaysia to determine the Peak Ground Acceleration (PGA) under local and far field seismic
conditions. Recommendations by the working committee was adopted in the Malaysia
National Annex to Eurocode 8: Part 1, which was published officially in Malaysia on 23
November 2017. At the same time, the Department of Mineral and Geosciences Malaysia
published the Seismic Hazard Maps for West Malaysia, Sarawak and Sabah.

Provisions in the Malaysia National Annex to EC8: Part 1 allow structural engineers to
determine whether a structure is required to be designed for a seismic event in accordance
with MS EN 1998-1: 2015. Factors to be taken into consideration include location of the
structure, level of importance for the building and the soil condition.
 Technical Notes
2019 TN01/2 of 2

Checks on whether seismic design to MS EN 1998-1: 2015 is applicable for

various locations in Sarawak

Samarahan

Sri Aman

Limbang
Kuching

Bintulu
Mukah
Sarikei
Location

Serian
Kota

Sibu

Miri
PGA (value in %g) 2 2 2 5 1 2 3 4 6 2
from Seismic Hazard Map
Check 1 – Building Importance Class
Building I - - - ✓ - - - - ✓ -
Importance Class II - - - ✓ - - - ✓ ✓ -
III - - - ✓ - - - ✓ ✓ -
IV - - - ✓ - - ✓ ✓ ✓ -
Check 2 – Type of Soil
Building Type
Importance Class of soil
I A - - - - - - - - - -
B - - - - - - - - ✓ -
C - - - ✓ - - - - ✓ -
D - - - ✓ - - - - ✓ -
E - - - ✓ - - - - ✓ -
II A - - - ✓ - - - - ✓ -
B - - - ✓ - - - - ✓ -
C - - - ✓ - - - ✓ ✓ -
D - - - ✓ - - - ✓ ✓ -
E - - - ✓ - - - ✓ ✓ -
III A - - - ✓ - - - - ✓ -
B - - - ✓ - - - ✓ ✓ -
C - - - ✓ - - - ✓ ✓ -
D - - - ✓ - - - ✓ ✓ -
E - - - ✓ - - ✓ ✓ ✓ -
IV A - - - ✓ - - - ✓ ✓ -
B - - - ✓ - - ✓ ✓ ✓ -
C - - - ✓ - - ✓ ✓ ✓ -
D - - - ✓ - - ✓ ✓ ✓ -
E - - - ✓ - - ✓ ✓ ✓ -

Remarks:
1) This table is produced by GBU Consultant as a guideline on whether seismic design
to MS EN 1998-1: 2015 is applicable. Please contact us for further advice.
2) Refer to National Annex for the definition of Building Importance Class and Type of
Soil.
3) PGA = peak ground acceleration
4) ✓ indicates seismic design to MS EN 1998-1: 2015 is applicable.