Al Ain: An earthquake shook the UAE and many countries in the Middle East, Asia and the US on Tuesday afternoon. Residents of the UAE felt the ground shake under their feet around 4pm today as a 6.3 magnitude earthquake struck Southern Iran.
An aftershock measuring 5.4 was reported 13 minutes after the first earthquake. The UAE’s National Center Of Meteorology and Seismology (NCMS) spoke to Emirates 24|7 confirming the same, saying: “An earthquake has struck South of Iran measuring 6.2. The tremors were felt in Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Sharjah because of its epicentre.”
The spokesperson continued: “The earthquake struck at 3.52pm UAE time, with its epicentre in Shiraz loacted 500km from Abu Dhabi. The extent to which UAE residents felt the tremors was 4.0 in magnitude.”
NCMS said there is no warning for tsunami in the UAE. News wire agency, Reuters, reported the epicentre near Bushehr in Iran. Meanwhile, Twitter frenzy erupted within minutes of the tremors, with many reportedly running out of buildings.
Residents across Dubai confirmed buildings were being evacuated, including the Siemens office building in Jebel Ali, Emaar Square, Tiffany Tower (JLT) and Damac Towers.
Adam Kechil tweeted: “Emaar Square evacuated due to Earthquake.” Meanwhile, towers in Qatar and Bahrain have also been evacuated as part of emergency procedures. Shiraz Gidwani tweeted: “No tremors felt at the Burj Khalifa. Prayers with those affected in Iran.”
Salman Mohammad wrote to us saying: “I felt mild tremors in my flat in Al Qasmiya Sharjah the lamps were swinging mildly; it lasted for two minutes. It was scary as well since I live on a higher floor.”
“While I was talking with a client on the phone, I felt a light shift from left to right. I did not think much of it, and continued my work. “But then all of my colleagues suddenly started talking about low blood pressure and dizzyness. While all of them are completely healthy! It was then that we realised there was an earthquake, and we decided to leave the building,” said Kinana Homsi-Mardini, 27, who works in Tecom.
Kinana and her colleagues were not the only people with that idea. A little after 4 PM the streets were filled with employees, who did not want to take the risk of staying inside.
Ramesh, who works in Abu Dhabi near the cornice said: “Many did not know that there was an earthquake but we did see people running down, a few minutes later a sort of a fire alarm rang and everybody including those from the buildings nearby rushed down.”
Most people did not feel a thing, but were told by others about the light shake if earth. It was only a matter of seconds, would others report.
Shaher Bano, 27, was one of the few who felt the quake in her office. “There was just a light shake. It was over before I realised it. Because it was only shortly, it did not terrify me. But we did evacuate,” she said.
Rachel Morris from Qatar tweeted: “Driving home and buildings evacuated everywhere.”
Thomas Jose Purackal said: “Tremors in Qatar because of 6.3 magnitude earthquake in Iran.”
From Bahrain, Namit Bhatia spoke to us, saying: “My office was evacuated and the Al Seef area in Manama was reportedly quite severe. It wasn’t vibration, but actual swinging.”
No Reason To Panic In UAE After Earthquake, Say Officials
The UAE’s National Center of Meteorology & Seismology (NCMS) has said that there is no reason to panic but has warned residents not to venture out into the seas because of the possibility of high waves following a 6.2 earthquake in Iran, which killed three people.
The earthquake took place at 3.52pm local time about 500 kms away from Abu Dhabi, southeast of Iran’s port city of Bushehr, which houses the country’s only nuclear power station.
It was 24km deep under water, NCMS said, adding that the impact of the quake in the UAE measured 4 on the Richter scale.
“We advise people in the UAE not to go to the sea because there maybe high waves,” said a spokesperson.
Panic spread across the UAE and other GCC countries following the quake, though there have been no reports of loss or damage.
Buildings in Doha, Manama and Dubai were evacuated after the quake, which was followed by several aftershocks.
