Temenggor Perak Earthquake Structural Monitoring & Building Inspection Equipment Malaysia
Published: 28 August 2026
Temenggor Perak Earthquake Structural Monitoring & Building Inspection Equipment Malaysia
Quick Answer
Following a felt earthquake or unusual ground movement, building owners, engineers, contractors and facility managers may want to check for visible cracks, settlement, displacement or other changes in a structure.
Different conditions require different measurement methods.
Crack → Crack Measurement & Monitoring
Settlement → Levelling / Total Station Survey
Structural Movement → Total Station + Monitoring Prism
Concrete Condition → Appropriate Structural NDT
Earthquake Motion → Seismic Monitoring Instrument
A normal handheld machinery vibration meter should not be treated as an earthquake detector or seismograph.
MTM Precision supplies surveying, structural monitoring and NDT equipment in Malaysia for building, infrastructure and engineering applications.
Why This Matters
A magnitude 3.4 earthquake was reported near Temenggor, Gerik, Perak in the early hours of 28 August 2026.
When ground movement is felt, one of the practical questions for property owners and engineering teams is:
“Has the structure moved or changed?”
This cannot normally be answered by one instrument alone.
The appropriate inspection or monitoring method depends on what needs to be measured, the type of structure and the findings of the responsible engineer or other qualified professional.
What Should Be Monitored?
Depending on the situation, engineers and surveyors may investigate:
New or existing cracks
Changes in crack width
Settlement
Changes in elevation
Horizontal or vertical displacement
Structural deformation
Movement of retaining structures
Slope movement
Concrete condition
Changes at selected structural monitoring points
For important structures, repeated measurements can be particularly useful because they show whether a condition is stable or changing over time.
Recommended Equipment Table
What Needs Checking:
Crack opening or changing
Measurement:
Crack width and change over time
Equipment:
Crack Width Meter / Crack Monitoring Gauge
What Needs Checking:
Building or structural movement
Measurement:
Position and displacement
Equipment:
Total Station + Monitoring Prism
What Needs Checking:
Settlement
Measurement:
Elevation or level change
Equipment:
Auto Level / Levelling Staff / Total Station
What Needs Checking:
Structural deformation
Measurement:
Repeated coordinates of monitoring points
Equipment:
Total Station + Permanent Monitoring Prism / Target
What Needs Checking:
Concrete condition
Measurement:
Selected concrete or structural parameters
Equipment:
Appropriate Concrete NDT Equipment
What Needs Checking:
Earthquake or seismic motion
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Ground acceleration / seismic motion
Equipment:
Purpose-designed Seismic Sensor / Seismograph
1. Crack Measurement & Monitoring
One of the first visible signs people may notice after unusual movement is cracking.
However, simply seeing a crack does not establish its cause or structural significance.
Where appropriate, crack measurement equipment can help document:
Crack location
Crack width
Changes in crack width
Crack development over time
Before-and-after condition
Possible equipment includes:
Crack Width Gauge
Crack Width Meter
Crack Microscope
Crack Monitoring Gauge
Digital Crack Measurement Equipment
Repeated measurements are especially useful when an engineer wants to determine whether a crack remains stable or continues to change.
2. Structural Movement & Deformation Monitoring
For professional deformation monitoring, a total station can be used together with monitoring prisms or targets installed at selected points on a structure.
A stable reference network is established.
The monitoring points are then measured repeatedly.
Changes between measurement epochs can help identify movement in the monitored points.
Typical equipment includes:
Total Station
Monitoring Prism
Mini Prism
Permanent Monitoring Prism
Survey Monitoring Target
Reference Point
Control Point Accessories
Typical applications include:
Buildings
Bridges
Dams
Retaining walls
Slopes
Tunnels
Rail infrastructure
Construction sites
Excavation areas
Existing structures near construction works
MTM Precision supplies professional surveying and monitoring accessories for these applications in Malaysia.
3. Monitoring Prism for Structural Movement
Monitoring prisms are particularly relevant when a structure needs to be measured repeatedly over weeks, months or longer periods.
Instead of manually placing a prism at approximately the same position every time, a permanent monitoring point provides a consistent target for repeated surveying.
Depending on the project, monitoring points may be installed on:
Building faades
Columns
Retaining walls
Bridge structures
Tunnel structures
Dams
Slopes
Adjacent properties
Infrastructure assets
MTM Precision supplies surveying and structural monitoring accessories, including professional monitoring prism solutions for deformation monitoring applications.
4. Settlement & Level Monitoring
Not every structural movement problem is horizontal.
Settlement or changes in elevation may also need to be investigated.
Depending on the required accuracy and monitoring method, surveyors may use:
Auto Level
Levelling Staff
Total Station
Survey Benchmark
span style="color:#000000;"> Reference Point
Permanent Monitoring Point
Repeated measurements against suitable stable references allow elevation changes to be compared over time.
This can be useful for:
Building settlement monitoring
Construction monitoring
Road and infrastructure monitoring
Retaining wall monitoring
Excavation monitoring
Ground movement investigation
5. Concrete & Structural NDT
If an engineer determines that further investigation of a concrete structure is necessary, appropriate non-destructive testing methods may form part of the assessment.
Depending on the requirement, equipment may include:
Concrete Rebound Hammer
Concrete Crack Measurement Equipment
Rebar Scanner
Concrete Cover Meter
Ultrasonic Concrete Testing Equipment
Anchor Pull-Out Testing Equipment
MTM Precision supplies structural and concrete NDT instruments
28 Aug 2026
