5.6 quake near Aden; UAE not impacted

A 5.6-magintude earthquake struck the Gulf of Aden on Tuesday morning, with authorities confirming the UAE was not impacted by any seismic activity.

The incident occurred at 8.03am UAE time, with the head of the country’s seismology centre telling ‘Emirates24|7’, the epicentre of the tremblor was 10 kilometres deep in the Gulf of Aden, the body of water between Yemen and Somalia.

The United States Geological Survey (USGS) posted the epicentre was near Qalansiyah, Socotra Island, Yemen.

“The 5.6-magnitude tremblor is what we call a moderate earthquake, which are regular occurrences in the Gulf of Aden,” said Khamis Al Shamsi from the National Centre for Meteorology and Seismology (NCMS).

“The latest one occurred when Arabian tectonic plate shifted from south to north, in the opposite direction of the Indian tectonic plate.”

He continued: “The earthquake is too minor to affect the UAE in any manner.

“We monthly record at least one to two seismic events in the area, specifically in this boundary.”

Al Shamsi stated the Arabian tectonic plate extends from Iran to encompass the Arabian Sea, the Gulf of Oman and the Gulf of Aden.

Last month, another tremblor struck the Gulf of Aden, measuring 5.6 on the Richter scale.

The latest earthquake is an a number of seismic activities recorded this month, with the biggest being the 8.3-magnitude earthquake struck the coast of central Chile on September 16, triggering tsunami warnings and coastal evacuations.

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