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Mt Kinabalu quake - How it happened

KUALA LUMPUR: Following is the chronology of events of the Mount Kinabalu quake.

• June 5, 2015 - A 5.9 magnitude earthquake struck at Mt Kinabalu at 7.15am, killing 18 people in its wake. It was felt in 12 districts and caused extensive damage to areas within a 100km radius.

• June 6, 2015 - State Tourism, Culture and Environment Minister Datuk Masidi Manjun announced that all climbing activities at the Mount Kinabalu Park was suspended until further notice.

• June 9, 2015 – Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak visited the Mount Kinabalu Park to meet with rescue workers and announced an allocation of RM10 million for remedial works.

• June 10, 2015 – Search and rescue operations ends on Mount Kinabalu after remains of all 18 people who were unaccounted for were recovered.

•June 12, 2015 - Four foreign tourists were sentenced to three days jail (from the date of their arrest June 9) and RM5,000 fine each for committing obscene acts at Mount Kinabalu, where they were among 10 tourists who stripped naked at the mountain on May 30, six days before the quake. Locals believed the mountain is a sacred place.

• June 15, 2015 - Mudslides forced residents at the foothills of Mount Kinabalu, in particular the Mesilau area, to evacuate their homes as loose rocks with boulders the size of cars crashed down the mountain due to a continuous downpour.

• June 16, 2015 – Mudslides with tonnes of debris clogged river intake points at treatment plants, causing major shortfall, about eight million litres per day, in supply of clean water all over Ranau.

• June 20, 2015 - A 'posogit' or offering ritual to appease the spirits on Mount Kinabalu was held in accordance with traditional beliefs among natives there, led by 93-year-old bobolian (high priest) Abas Rintingan at the Timpohon gate, the starting point for climbers up the mountain.

• July 12, 2015 - A second mudslide caused by clogged debris up on Mount Kinabalu polluted the Kadamaian river in Kota Belud. It also caused another major shortfall in clean water supply.

• September 1, 2015 - Climbing activities for public reopens but only up to the Laban Rata rest house area, at an altitude of 3,272 metres.

• October 4, 2015 - Energy, Green Technology and Water Minister Datuk Seri Dr Maximus Ongkili announced a major study on sourcing new raw water resources to be supplied to the people in Kota Belud, which was affected by the mudslide following the quake.

• December 1, 2015 - Climbing activities until up to the summit reopens for public with a new trail called Ranau Trail.

• January 19, 2016 - Mountain Torque's via ferrata at Mount Kinabalu reopens with new Aeroligne System as an upgrade of its safety features.

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