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Two Die After Tsunami Scare
News24
Malaysia
February 8, 2005
Kuala Lumpur - Two elderly women died after fleeing their homes following a tsunami scare in Malaysia's Sabah state on Borneo island, local media said on Tuesday.
Eyah Aris, 66, was among over 1 000 villagers who had fled their homes to a mosque at the top of a nearby hill for fear of a tsunami after a strong earthquake hit the neighbouring Philippines, the Bernama news agency said.
Eyah, who suffered from asthma, experienced breathing difficulties and died hours after reaching the mosque.
Tiambun Mansir, 73, also died of exhaustion early on Monday after climbing a hill near her house on Saturday, the New Straits Times said.
Tiambun's relatives said she tried to rush up a hill after officials warned of a possible tsunami but developed breathing difficulties, the newspaper said.
Thousands of people in Sabah fled coastal areas for higher ground when the official warning came after an earthquake measuring 7.2 on the Richter scale struck the southern Philippines late on Saturday.
The earthquake had its epicentre in the sea south of Mindanao island, about 500 kilometres from Dent Haven near Lahad Datu on Sabah's east coast.
A total of 68 people died in Malaysia, mostly in the northern resort island of Penang, following the December 26 tsunamis which killed more than 294 000 people across the Indian Ocean.
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