Mar 24:Twenty families at the City Hall longhouses in Jalan Ayer Panas, Setapak, were evacuated after their homes were damaged by a ‘mini earthquake’ during a thunderstorm yesterday.

Apart from the houses, a kindergarten, three shops and a multi-purpose hall were also damaged by the tremors, which occurred at 3.45pm.

The residents were terrified to see cracks developing on the walls of their homes and the structures tilting. The road in front of the houses buckled.

However, nobody was hurt.

Syed Hakim Syed Salim, 38, said: "I heard loud noises behind my house when I was resting in my living room.

"I rushed out and saw that my neighbour's lawn had been thrust forward by earth movements.

"I was shocked, but before I could catch my breath, my house began to tilt and the walls cracked." His wife, Zaharah Hassan, said: "I had a shock. Thank God nobody was hurt." Abdul Rahman Kutty, 47, said his mother's house was badly damaged. "The walls cracked and so did the floor. I was lucky that my house was only slightly damaged," he said.

Community leader Baba Kutty, 50, said many residents believe that construction work on the new Jalan Duta-Hulu Klang Highway, adjacent to the long-houses, could have caused the earth movements.

"The concessionaire has been loading tonnes of earth on the proposed highway site, and this could have resulted in earth movements," he said.

City Hall sent 20 members of its rescue squad to evacuate residents and their belongings.

They were joined by 14 firemen from the Setapak fire station.

Kuala Lumpur Fire and Rescue Department assistant director of operations Abu Obaidad Mohamad said that they were alerted by residents at 5.15pm and arrived at the scene in 15 minutes.

Deputy Federal Territories Minister and Setiawangsa Member of Parliament Datuk Zulhasnan Rafique said that the families were moved to three community halls in the vicinity, the Jalan Ayer Panas Rukun Tetangga centre, the Jalan Ayer Panas MIC hall and the Jalan Ayer Panas Community Hall.

A spokesman for the highway's concessionaire Konsortium Lebuh Raya Utara-Timur (Kuala Lumpur) Sdn Bhd said they would investigate if construction work had affected the stability of the ground beneath the houses.