DON’T FEAR TODAY’S ‘SUPERMOON’

Weatherman: Don’t fear today’s ‘supermoon’

PETALING JAYA: The public need not fear today’s “supermoon” as it will not cause any tsunami or earthquake, the Ma­­laysian Meteorological Depart­ment said.

The moon would be closest to the earth today for the first time in 20 years, making it look larger and brighter.

It is set to brighten the sky from just 356,577km away.

The department’s Geophysics & Tsunami Division director Dr Rosaidi Che Abas said there was no relation between the “supermoon” and natural disasters.

“The earthquake is caused by the earth’s internal (crust) movements and the tsunami occurs when the sea floor moves,” he said.

“The public is advised not to be worried about any earthquake, tsunami or unusual weather on that day. It won’t affect the local climate,” said Dr Rosaidi.

The larger moon, however, might cause a rise in sea levels given the stronger gravity pull, especially in areas facing the moon, he added.

Dr Rosaidi said that the Department of Survey and Map-ping Malaysia (Jupem) could gauge this.

According to Jupem’s Tide Table Prediction book for this year, tide levels were expected to be in the normal category for this month.

However, Kukup in Johor, was expected to experience low tide.

Jupem has 12 tide gauge stations in the peninsula, six in Sabah and three in Sarawak.