What earthquake? I didn’t feel a thing, say 4 out of 10 UAE residents

As local media went into a frenzy reporting of yesterday’s earthquake measuring 5.1 on the Richter scale near Qeshm, Iran, which was felt in parts of the UAE, a good percentage of UAE residents were happily unaware of the quake, and an even greater number went about their daily chores, remaining unaffected in any way.

“I didn’t feel anything,” said an Indian resident living in Dubai. “I learnt it from Twitter and the news spread fast causing concern among residents,” she added.

This was the opinion of 4 out of 10 UAE residents who responded to an online poll run by Emirates 24|7, with 38 per cent respondents claiming to have not felt a thing.

The earthquake struck Iran, some 175km away from Dubai on Tuesday morning but slight tremors were felt in Dubai and the Northern Emirates after 9.40am.

Authorities confirmed that they had “no major impact” in the region but due to precautionary reasons, some buildings were evacuated.

In a statement issued later, the Dubai Municipality confirmed that the tremors had no major impact in the region.

The Director of Dubai Municipality’s Survey Department, Mohammed Al Mashroom said these seismic activities happened in the seismic belt that extends north-west parallel to Zagros mountain belt because of the collision between Arabian tectonic plate with Eurasian plate. He also stressed that all buildings in Dubai are safe against such moderate tremors.

Of those who did feel the tremors, 41 per cent said to have stayed put and went on as usual with their daily chores. “I did feel mild tremors but did not bother to rush out of my house,” a resident living in Jumeirah Lake Towers told this website.

It seems people were quite lax about the situation as another 5 per cent did not take anything seriously. Instead, they took the opportunity to take a break. Besides, those who stayed put or were in the relaxation mode immediately after the tremors, 4 per cent did call up friends and family to discuss the situation and pass on the word.

Those, who do believe taking Mother Nature’s shots seriously, did evacuate the building they were in, but that was just a 12 per cent, making them a minority.

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