The National Centre for Meteorology (NCM) confirmed a minor earthquake of magnitude 1.6 in the Dibba area of UAE on Wednesday morning. The tremor, recorded in Fujairah at 6.18am, originated at a depth of 5 kilometres.
Though many residents experienced the tremor, no significant effects were reported within the country. Social media was abuzz with accounts of the mild quake, with some even claiming to feel the tremors as far as the Al Badia area.
Residents, however, have been assured by experts that there’s no cause for alarm. Khalifa Al Ebri, director of the Department of Seismology at NCM, previously stated in a Khaleej Times report, “The UAE experiences low to moderate seismicity, so we are safe. We aren’t on an active seismic belt.”
Al Ebri also mentioned that the UAE experiences two to three minor tremors annually, most of which go unnoticed by the public and are only detected by sensors.
Importantly, these tremors have no impact on the country’s buildings or infrastructure.