YANBU: The Royal Commission for Jubail and Yanbu met here yesterday to discuss the possible threats from seismic activity to the industrial establishment in Yanbu.
Commission officials and company executives participated in the meeting, which was chaired by the acting manager of Royal Commission in Yanbu, Saud Al-Malki. The meeting comes in the wake of a series of strong tremors in Al-Ais, some 150 km northeast of Yanbu.
Saudi authorities evacuated villagers from the region after the tremors starting mid-April sparked fears of a major earthquake.
The area has a number of dormant volcanoes and the Saudi Geological Survey said the tremors had been accompanied by increased volcanic activity with rising heat levels and gas emissions.
Hani Zahran, an official of the National Center for Earthquakes and Volcanoes at the Saudi Geological Survey, gave a presentation at the meeting on the quake-threat assessment for this important industrial zone in northwestern Saudi Arabia, a major transit point for the country’s oil resources.
The head of the Civil Defense in Yanbu, Col. Zuhair Ahmad, gave a report on the current situation and the Civil Defense readiness after the recent events in Al-Ais and the surrounding areas.
Zahran said the industrial establishments in Yanbu currently do not face any threats from the seismic activity.
