UAE | Environment

People in Al Ain claim they were jolted by tremors

Ruwais residents claim they were jolted by tremors on Monday night, forcing them to come out into the streets.

  • By Aftab Kazmi, Bureau Chief
  • Published: 00:35 May 7, 2008
  • Gulf News

Al Ain: Ruwais residents claim they were jolted by tremors on Monday night, forcing them to come out into the streets.

The National Centre of Meteorology and Seismology (NCMS) did not confirm the tremors saying the centre had not received any such information.

A centre official said the area may have received some aftershocks from a 5.4 magnitude earthquake that hit the Iranian city of Shiraz.

"We, however, have no means in that area to confirm or deny it," he added.

Residents said a tremor hit Ruwais at around 8.15pm, followed by another at 8.40pm. No damage was reported in the area. The shocks were first reported by a Gulf News reader living in the area.

"It was a terrifying night. First the tremors shook us up and than came the heavy rain with thunder," said Rajesh Kumar, an Indian expatriate.

He said he lives in a mobile home and felt the tremors at around 8.15pm. He rushed outside and saw many other frightened people coming out in the open.

"I am sure it was an earthquake and the jolts faded after several seconds."

Raja Sultan, another resident, said he also experienced both the tremors but they were very light.

"It was an earthquake but a minor one," he said.

Monitoring centre

Sultan said he was watching television at the time of tremor.

The NCMS official said the centre has been developing an earthquake monitoring centre.

"We have no monitoring station in Ruwais and cannot say, for sure, what actually caused the jolts," he added.

The time of the first tremor also coincided with another earthquake that hit the Qalat district of Pakistan. It was a 4.4 magnitude earthquake and its epicentre was on the Indian Tectonic Plate. The UAE is located on the Arabian plate.

Iran, on the other hand, has a history of earthquakes and a major fault line passes through its Zagros belt in the southern area. In this region, an Arabian tectonic plate has been pushing against the Eurasian plate at a rate of approximately 3cm per year.

Unlike the Western region, the northern emirates have experienced earthquakes several times in recent years since March 1999.

The last earthquake in the UAE was felt in Ras Al Khaimah and its surrounding areas in September last year. It was of 4.6 magnitude on the Richter scale and occurred some 10km (6.2 miles) deep in the earth.

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