KOTA KINABALU: Tremors were felt at the city centre here and in Sandakan this afternoon, prompting city dwellers to rush out of buildings in panic.
The tremors, which began at 2.13pm, lasted about 10 seconds, and were felt by those near the city centre such as Tanjung Aru and Kepayan.
In Sandakan, staff of the Sandakan federal building at Mile 7, Jalan Labuk were also ordered out of the structure as tremors were also felt there.
The Malaysian Meteorological Department in a statement on its Facebook page, confirmed that a 7.3-magnitude earthquake occured 466 kilometres northeast of Semporna.
It occurred at a depth of 622 km at the Celebes Sea and tremors were felt in Sabah.
There is no tsunami threat, said the department.
Over in Limbang, tremors were also felt at Jalan Buangsiol, near Purnama hotel at about 2pm. The hotel guests and staff were also evacuated.
A spokesman from the Limbang Fire and Rescue station said the tremor, which lasted about 10 seconds were felt by the public.
The station, located about 2km from the scene, deployed six firefighters to monitor the area.
No injuries, casualties or damages have been reported thus far.