Blog: What the quake felt like in Langkawi

Langkawi: I had just sat down with a map of Langkawi in the balcony of my third floor room to plan out my day when a series of massive tremors struck. The furniture, the bottle of water on the table, even huge clear panels of glass around the resort's restaurant directly overlooking the sea were shaking, they looked like they may just shatter.

By now the hotel staff had also rushed out and gone into the different wings of the resort to get guests to come out. Already some guests had started making their way down, I too proceeded to make my way to the ground floor from the third floor room.

There everyone was ushered to evacuate areas located near the road into the hotel and away from the beach. Most tourists were anxious as everyone recalled the images of the destruction left by the Banda Aceh quake.

I was told that after the Aceh quake, all resorts and establishments across coastal areas in Malaysia had to make evacuation plans and keep doing drills to ensure that the staff knew what to do. Today was no drill!

After almost 20 minutes, the guests were allowed to go back to their rooms. Everyone was also advised not to go near the beach, as reports came in of the fire chief and administrators of Langkawi ordering fishing and tourist boats to return to shore.

A short while later there was another quake, this time too the drill was followed.

Many tourists were clearly anxious, but some tried to make light of it by asking if this meant a discount for sea facing rooms.

Ironic, as I remember a couple asking the hotel for a room with a more direct and better view of the sea, now it seems like everyone wanted to be in the rooms right at the back of the resort. Some were talking of checking out and moving to hotels away from the beach.

Langkawi attracts tourists not only from across the world but Malaysia as well, today by the late afternoon the beach was looking deserted. Many excursions for snorkeling and deep sea diving have also been cancelled or put on hold.

The 2004 ache quake and tsunami had also hit the neighboring Malaysia n island of Penang causing death and destruction. Ironically I had just left Penang for Malaysia by boat today morning, an uneventful journey over what had been a calm sea just hours before the quake hit.

While authorities say there is no immediate danger, locals living on the island I spoke to say they are nervous. I know one thing for sure, tonight everyone on the island is going to sleep light.