MUSCAT: Oman’s Earthquake Monitoring Centre at Sultan Qaboos University reported and recorded at 9.12pm on July 3, an earthquake at the Owen Fracture Zone, almost 400km from Salalah. The quake measured 5.6 on the Richter’s Scale and was not reported to have caused any major impact.
Another quake measuring 2.9 magnitude was also reported as having occurred in Arabian’s Sea’s Falq Owen, 282km from Duqm at 9.42am.
Oman’s Civil Aviation Authority has ruled out any Tsunami threat due to this. Social Media users had posed questions whether an earthquake of this magnitude could generate Tsunamis. Experts point out that earthquakes of magnitude 6.5 and above are only capable of producing Tsunamis.
On April 24, an earthquake of 5.6 magnitude occurred in the same region of Owen Fracture Zone at a depth of 28km. The authorities at that time were quick to dismiss a Tsunami threat vide a notice issued by Oman’s Civil Aviation Authority.
The Owen Fracture Zone (OFZ) is a transform fault line in the northwest Indian Ocean that separates the Arabian and African Plates from the Indian Plate. Oman is part of the Arabian plate, which comprises the continent of Arabia as well as oceanic areas consisting of parts of the Red Sea, Arabian Sea, Gulf of Aden and Gulf of Oman.
