UAE Community Blog: Did anyone feel the earthquake few minutes ago?

27 November, 2005

Did anyone feel the earthquake few minutes ago?

Cause i missed it!

11 comments:

Emirati said...: hey, whats going on man ? no tremors here in AD.; 27 November, 2005 15:02
secretdubai said...: Nah sadly.

I just blogged the lack of sensation.; 27 November, 2005 15:10
moryarti said...: I didn't feel anything.. my brother just called me from kuwait asking me whats going on :)

the people in the buildings around my office are refusing to go upstairs again.

I went up to our HR lady to ask her if we can do the same, she told me to @#$% off :); 27 November, 2005 15:14
John B. Chilton said...: I felt it. First thought was, that's an earthquake. Second thought, that's earthmoving equipment. Third thought, I'm losing it.

Saw the electric cord to the lamp swinging. That confirmed I wasn't losing it.

There's a story in Gulf News but its server is swamped.; 27 November, 2005 15:17
BuJ said...: i missed it too.. mind you i am about 4500 miles away.. but the net is rocking :); 27 November, 2005 15:18
samuraisam said...: http://gulfnews.com/Articles/NationNF.asp?ArticleID=195309

it's overloaded ):; 27 November, 2005 15:20
samuraisam said...: got it
There are unconfirmed reports that an earth tremor has hit the northern emirates.

These reports claim that the tremor was centred on a triangular area between Ras Al Khaimah, Al Ain and Dubai.

Some tall buildings and skyscrapers around Shaikh Zayed Road and Dubai Media City were evacuated.

UAE authorities are now attempting to ascertain from international sources whether there was any seismic activity in the region.

More follows...; 27 November, 2005 15:23
moryarti said...: umm.. i kindda ingnored this when i got it last month ..

From:
Sent: Sunday, October 30, 2005 9:14 AM
To:
Subject: FW: Please read...Caution!

An earthquake measuring 5 to 6.5 on the Richter scale could soon hit Dubai, an eminent scientist said.

"If it happens, nearby cities, including Sharjah and Dubai will also be affected," said Dr Azm Al Homoud, a scholar at the American University of Sharjah (AUS).

People in Dibba have felt at least 20 tremors in the past nine days and this indicates a major earthquake waiting to hit the area, said Dr Al Homoud, earthquake specialist and professor of civil engineering at the university..

He said the tremors were down to local tectonic movement on the Dibba fault, which is connected to the Zagros fault a major fault that lies on the opposite side of the Arabian Gulf in Iran.

"There is energy on Dibba fault that needs to be released and that will cause an earthquake in the area," he said.
Dr Al Homoud called upon the authorities to put emergency plans in place. "Civil defence, police and hospitals should be capable of handling any bigger emergencies and should be well equipped. There is an immediate need to start scientific research on this issue to analyse the situation," he said.

"We should develop an earthquake code, launch awareness programmes for people, train volunteers and civil defence people, set up more quake monitoring centres, impose design codes on building construction and check the vulnerability of important buildings such as hospitals and schools," he added.

It is a national issue and should be handled at a national level, Dr Al Homoud said. "A general survey of buildings, such as schools, colleges, hospitals and other important and strategic points, should be carried out to strengthen their structure to resist any quake," he said.

High rise buildings were being constructed following the earthquake code in Dubai and Abu Dhabi and some in Sharjah, but the real danger lies with the smaller buildings and houses.

There have been reports of cracks in some houses due to recent tremors in Dibba.
"People in the area should be educated about how they should behave in case of an earthquake. There should be an evacuation plan and also efforts should be made to form a regional task force to act in case of such disasters.

"At least two to three tremors measuring 1 to 2.5 on the Richter scale have been felt every day by residents in Dibba since October 16," he said.

He said that following the recent tremors, the AUS has already installed a seismograph the first in the UAE in Fujairah. This continuously monitors the situation and has so far recorded at least nine tremors since it was installed five days ago.

"We also installed an accelerometer, another quake monitoring device, in Dibba three days ago and it has so far recorded at least ten local tremors," he said.

Officials in Fujairah and Dibba were constantly in touch with AUS and were monitoring the situation. "We also installed another seismograph at the AUS last week to monitor any movements," he said.

Dr Al Homoud said there were at least three reasons to take the threat of earthquakes in UAE seriously:
1. International analysts have said the hazard in the UAE is about the same as that in parts of California, Turkey and Iran.

2. Two tectonic faults run through the UAE. One of these runs along the West Coast of the country, right through the major cities from Abu Dhabi to Ras Al Khaimah. The second one, Dibba fault, enters land near the southern borders of Oman, coming from the north and runs southward to the centre of the Arabian Peninsula.

3. An earthquake with a magnitude of five has already occurred in Masafi, about 23km from Fujairah, on March 11, 2002; 27 November, 2005 15:28
Anonymous said...: so what's with the 'radio silence'?! Except for a few sympathetic RJ's taking phone calls, most of us dont know whether we've got 'SZR Anxiety syndrome' or whether it really happened!

Would be nice to hear from an authority instead of this 'unconfirmed reports' mumbo jumbo!! When it's 50degrees out and 'they' say 45degrees... i can take it... why cant someone just come out and say something!? Its been 75mins since the 'incident' and still no official word!?

What are they waiting for?!?! Approval from em@@r and N@khee1? (Which begs the question... what happens when we experience the 'real deal'??!!); 27 November, 2005 15:45
* said...: Im tremulous.. aaha ha IM all SHOOK UP!
NOTHING happened in ABUDHABI( alhumdolillah). Except frantic calls from friend to VACATE THE PREMISES.
But...but... what about BOLD AND BEAUTIFUL...YOUNG and Restless,...CLEARLY DEMENTED but THOUGHTFUL???; 28 November, 2005 09:07
Anonymous said...: This place need a bit of shaking up!!!!; 28 November, 2005 10:58