Workers from Beach Rd, Shaw Tower evacuated after tremors

Workers from Beach Road and Shaw Tower were evacuated after tremors from the Aceh earthquake were felt on Wednesday afternoon, according to tips sent to AsiaOne.

Photos showed office workers gathering outside 700 Beach Road, a nine-level office building, just before 5pm.

A worker, who declines to be named, told AsiaOne that she saw the hanging lights and beams in her office moving.

She said she felt giddy and needed to sit down. But they were then subsequently told by their office manager to move because they were being evacuated.

According to her, the evacuation lasted less than 15 minutes before they were allowed to return to the building.

Tremors from the aftershocks of a 8.6-magnitude earthquake which hit Indonesia were also felt in other parts of Singapore.

The Straits Times reported that people in Changi, Eunos, Marine Parade and Bedok felt the ground shake for about three minutes around 5pm.

Tremors were also reported in areas such as Whampoa, Woodlands, and Bras Basah.

Workers in the Central Business District also felt slight tremors.

Ms TY Long, 30, who works at Marina Bay Financial Centre told AsiaOne that an announcement was made regarding the tremors but no one was evacuated.

10 minutes later, she saw people being evacuated from Asia Square, which is situated next to her office.

Another worker at One Raffles Place, who also declines to be named, said that she also felt giddy and only realised that it was due to the tremors after her colleague showed her Twitter feeds on the quake.

They were not evacuated.

Writer Ms Anita, 30, told The Straits Times that she felt her bed shaking all of a sudden.

"I was taken by surprise. My bed started rocking and the ground felt wobbly like jelly, but it only lasted for three minutes and everything seemed stable after that," said Ms Anita, who stays in a 21-storey condominium at Marine Parade.

The police and Singapore Civil Defence Force said on Wednesday night that they received a total of 38 calls from the public reporting of tremors.

Some of the areas where the tremors were felt included the CBD, Beach Road, Temasek Boulevard, Selegie, Toa Payoh, Ang Mo Kio, Serangoon North, Punggol, Woodlands, Geylang Bahru, Geylang and Siglap.

The National Evironment Agency released a statement in Twitter, requesting the public to not be alarmed by the tremors.

It also said Singapore is unlikely to be affected by a tsunami.

The Building & Construction Authority (BCA) and the Housing & Development Board (HDB) have also completed their inspections of the 30 buildings in the affected areas and are found to be structurally safe.

The public is urged to report cracks or other structural defects by calling the HDB's Emergency Service Providers' 24-hour hotline at 1800- 325 8888, 1800-6275 5555, or 1800-6354 3333.

Those in private buildings should call the Building & Construction Authority at 6325 7191 or 6325 7393.