SHUAIBA, 17 February 2004 — A network of seismic activity centers has been formally opened by Dr. Muhammad Tawfeeq, head of the Saudi Geological Organization.
Twenty-seven remote stations work synchronously via satellite to transmit information and reports from remote areas to the central receiving station, Al-Eqtisadiah reported.
Dr. Muhammad said that the cost of this project was in excess of SR7.5 million. The equipment, of Canadian origin, was set up and installed by local teams of Saudi geologists.
Abdullah Shuwail, head of the Saudi center for earthquake studies and research, said that Saudi Arabia is not immune from powerful earthquakes and gave as an example the 1995 earthquake in Al-Akaba, which registered 7.2 on the Richter scale. It caused many deaths and damage to some remote villages in the area.
He said that areas along the Red Sea coast are the most vulnerable to seismic activity.
Saudi Arabia is one large tectonic plate — a single huge piece of the earth’s crust — that split off from Africa millions of years ago. It is moving slowly northeast, causing the Red Sea gradually to widen. This movement gradually builds up stresses in the underlying rock strata and eventually, they give way and move, shifting slightly and causing earthquakes or volcanic activity — or both. Hot springs and lava fields in the western region indicate that, at best, activity is only dormant.
The geological organization was working on strategic cooperation with the fire department in the past few years and participated in seminars to increase awareness on how to reduce the knock-on effects of an earthquake in urban areas.
