Rest easy, UAE lies in a stable zone

Seismically, the UAE is in a very stable zone and is not located within the high seismic zones known worldwide, said Khamis Al Shamsi, a senior engineer with the National Centre of Meteorology and Seismology.

However, the UAE is leaving no stone unturned and the country’s latest earthquake monitoring station was launched recently in the mountains of Wadi Helou, Sharjah. The network will constantly monitor the earth and will be able to pick up small tremors in the region.

The UAE has eight stations to monitor earthquakes and tremors. The national network of seismic monitoring is managed by the National Centre of Meteorology and Earthquakes which covers northern and eastern regions of the UAE in Shaam, Masafi, Umm Al Quwain and Qasr Al Ajban and Al Ain. Dubai too has a network for monitoring earthquakes,  which is linked to the Global Seismographic Network (GSN) that caters to the Gulf region.

Al Shamsi said the recent earthquakes which hit the south and east of Fujairah were due to the mining quarries, which operate in the neighbouring state. High intensity explosives are used at great depths within the earth which generated the tremors.

Meanwhile, Al Shamsi called for the establishment of a tsunami monitoring station to detect tsunami waves that may reach the east coast of the UAE, due to its proximity to the "Makran" region which is seismically active.

Al Shamsi added, “The UAE is geographically very close to the Zagros Fault, which is very active seismically. It stretches to the north-west and runs parallel to the Zagros mountain range, as a result of the collision of the Arabian plate with the Eurasian plate.”

The ‘crack of Makran’ in Oman has been experiencing relatively strong earthquakes, which has been reported by residents of Fujairah.”

A Geological study conducted by the UAE University revealed that the UAE has witnessed 40 quakes over the last 30 years. Colonel Ali Al Tunaiji Director of Fujairah Civil Defense told the website that the National Centre for Meteorology and Seismology always notifies civil defense departments of any tremors as soon as they occur.

When asked about the need to apply earthquake code specifications in the construction of new buildings in the UAE, Yusuf Obaid Al Nuaimi, a member of the Federal National Council said, “The phenomenon of tremors is recent in the UAE.”

He added that the application of seismic code would add significant financial burden on the cost of construction. Therefore, the National Centre for Meteorology and Earthquakes and other seismic monitoring stations should take a call on the issue and decide on the need to implement such specifications for construction purposes.

History of tremors in the region

Al Shamsi said the 7.4 quake that hit the southern part of Pakistan last January was one of the most intensive to have hit the region in the last 50 years.

The earthquake that hit the Iranian island of Qeshm in 2008 measured 6.1 on the Richter scale and the tremors that were felt in the Iranian city of Bam last December measured 6.5 on the Richter scale.

But the earthquake measuring 8.0 on the Richter scale that hit the Makran of the Gulf of Oman in 1945 gave way to tsunami waves, which affected the coasts of Pakistan and Iran and had limited effect on the Oman coast.

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