JEDDAH, 24 August — A series of 20 minor tremors had occurred in the Red Sea, 160 kms west of Mastoura, near Rabigh, on Wednesday, according to the seismological observation center under the Saudi Geological Survey Authority.
The first tremor shook the region at 12:18 a.m. local time, said Abdullah Ahmad Shuwail, director of the seismological studies and research center. He said the tremor measured 4.03 on the Richter scale.
The tremors that followed measured between 3.07 and 3.84, he said. "These will be followed by 19 more tremors, which would not be felt by the public," he pointed out.
Shuwail said these tremors would not have any effect on the public as they take place far away from the coast and in uninhabited areas. He estimated the epicenter at 39 kms in the sea.
"The tremors hit the region on the ridge of the Red Sea, which is an active area extending from the Gulf of Aqaba to the Strait of Bab Al-Mundeb, expanding the sea by 12 to 14 millimeters annually," he said.
Mastoura is a township under the Rabigh governorate in the Kingdom’s Western Province. An agricultural area, covering 40 kms north of Rabigh, it lies in the Red Sea between Jeddah and Madinah.
The Geological Survey Authority’s seismological center had registered a tremor on June 27 in Al-Hait, north of Madinah.
The authority had then announced that the tremor caused no human or material losses as it occurred in a desolate region.
The June 27 tremor shook the region located 200 kms northeast of Madinah and 25 kms north of Al-Hait, which stands southwest of the Hail region. It measured 3.52 on the Richter.
