KOTA KINABALU: A mud volcano eruption at Sabah’s Tabin Wildlife Sanctuary in Lahad Datu was a natural seismic occurrence and no cause for much alarm, says geologist Prof Dr Felix Tongkul.

“It erupts at regular intervals when mud pressure inside the earth builds up. Minor shakes from earthquakes nearby may trigger this eruption.

“The release of pressure, in theory, should lessen the occurrence of severe earthquakes,” said the Universiti Malaysia Sabah (UMS) honorary professor of geology.

He was commenting on the Tabin mud volcano eruption at about 10am on Sunday.

Eight tourists from the United States along with their guide caught sight of mud spewing up to 6m for nearly 30 minutes.

The relatively “rare” phenomenon was captured on camera and quickly went viral on Sunday evening.

“This was a normal occurrence, not to worry.

“However, since Lahad Datu is an earthquake-prone area, we should be prepared for future earthquakes,” Prof Tongkul said when contacted yesterday.

Tour guide Hamit Suban said they were on a forest treetop tower about 70m away when they heard a loud bang.

Then they saw the mud volcano eruption which lasted between 20 and 25 minutes, he added.

“I am told it reached a height of about 6m and is probably one of the highest so far observed,” he said.

Similar eruptions reportedly occurred in 2014 and 2019 but were not recorded on camera.

There were sounds of panic, in the viral video, with someone ordering others to move away from the mud pool.

Usually, there are only bubbles in this volcano mud pool.

Volcanic pools at the Tabin Wildlife Sanctuary and on Pulau Tiga, on the west coast of Sabah, are popular tourist draws for people wanting to take a mud bath.

An earthquake that registered 6.1 on the Richter scale hit Mount Kinabalu in 2015 and left over a dozen climbers, including children and guides, dead amid a trail of destruction.

https://www.thestar.com.my/news/nation/2022/09/20/no-cause-for-alarm-says-geologist