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 defense, 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 defense 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
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