What about Singapore?
In a written reply to a parliamentary question posed by retired Member of Parliament Dr Lim Wee Kiak in 2015, then-Environment and Water Resources Minister Dr Vivian Balakrishnan said that the likelihood of an earthquake occurring in Singapore is "extremely low".
"Most earthquakes tend to occur at the active margins of tectonic plates, such as in Sumatra, Java, the Philippines, Japan and South America.
"Singapore is situated about 400km from the nearest plate margin. The crust underlying Singapore is considered stable by experts in geology, and the records from our seismic stations and global positioning instruments show no evidence of active faults within Singapore," said Dr Balakrishnan.
On the frequently asked questions section of its website, the Earth Observatory of Singapore (EOS) echoed this, but cautioned that big earthquakes occurring on the nearest plate boundary — the Sunda Megathrust, offshore Sumatra — may affect Singapore.
"An earthquake powerful enough could swing the buildings located over reclaimed land or sediments," said the EOS.
In a 2023 updated posted on its website, Singapore's Building and Construction Authority said that buildings in Singapore are designed to be sufficiently robust to withstand tremors caused by distant earthquakes.
This is enshrined in the Singapore Standards — Design of Structures for Earthquake Resistance — which follows European standards.
On Feb 25, 2022, Singapore experienced tremors when a 6.0-magnitude earthquake struck the western coast of Sumatra.
Writing for The Straits Times in 2022, senior research fellow at the National Technological University, Dr Karen Lythogoe, said that more research is needed to assess the activity of geological faults and seismic hazard in Singapore and the neighbouring regions.
https://www.asiaone.com/singapore/earthquake-johor-can-earthquake-happen-singapore
