UAE geologists advise people to stay calm as country hit by tremors from major quake in Iran

Dubai: UAE geologists have advised people to stay calm as the country was hit by tremors stemming from a major earthquake in Iran.

By comparison to what some are calling the worst earthquake in Iran in 40 years, aftershocks felt in the UAE were small.

The epicentre of the Iranian earthquake, logged at 10.45am GMT on Tuesday, is remotely located and its aftershocks did not cause any harm in the emirates, said officials.

News wire reports said that the quake epicentre was in a mountainous desert area along the Iranian-Pakistani border about 200 kilometres southeast of Zahedan.

Dubai Police, meanwhile, said no injures or causalities were reported in Dubai and no damages were logged due to the earthquake happened in nearby country.

Abdullah Saleh, a UAE geologist in Al Ain, said: “Earthquakes are not unusual since earth is dynamic and thousands of earthquakes have been taking place all over the world.” Iran is a highly active seismic zone and earthquakes are normally felt in the UAE.

The National Centre of Meteorology and Seismology (NCMS) has also advised people to remain calm noting that an earthquake of this magnitude occurring far away causes small tremors by comparison. effects.

An hour after the initial tremors were felt in UAE, hundreds of people were still gathered below buildings in the capital, Dubai, Sharjah, Al Ain, and other parts of the country. Most were workers in high-rise office towers whose buildings had been evacuated following safety procedures.

Officials told news wires that 40 people are feared dead in Iran and five in Pakistan.

The powerful quake hit south-eastern Iran, reported Iran’s Press TV, based on data drawn from the Iranian Seismological Centre.

Tremors were felt across Northern India, in the Indian capital of New Delhi  as well as other Gulf states.