JEDDAH: The residents of Al-Ais, who were forced to leave their homes to stay with relatives elsewhere after a number of mild tremors hit the area, are eagerly awaiting developments over the next few days.
Col. Zuhair Sabeeh, director of the Civil Defense in Yanbu, said the department is keeping a heavy presence in villages around Al-Ais as a precautionary measure. He, however, said there are no plans for mass evacuations at this point.
He added that a decision to permanently evacuate residents from the area would be taken by the higher authorities if they see it in their interests.
Speaking to Arab News on telephone, Col. Sabeeh said no accidents were reported since the tremors started late last month. He added that the authorities are continuously following up on the situation. No tremor above the magnitude 4 on the Richter scale was recorded in the area, he added.
“Al-Hadma, Al-Jarrafa and Al-Ameed, with an estimated population of 6,000, are the villages that are vulnerable because of their proximity to the epicenter of the tremors. The Civil Defense has deployed a team of specialized officers in the area to evaluate the condition of houses there,” Col. Sebeeh said.
Mohamed Ayieq, a resident in Al-Jarrafa, said the Civil Defense came to his house a number of times to evaluate the situation.
Residents told Arab News tremors that lasted several minutes continued in the area. They are usually accompanied by a noise that sounded like thunder.
The last tremor to hit the area was on Friday night in the village of Al-Muqaddar. It was so strong that the entire village woke up in the middle of night, residents said.
Villagers in Al-Muqaddar refuse to leave their homes saying they would rather stay close to their assets. They demand the authorities build earthquake-resistant houses for them.
Al-Ais, the biggest urban center in the mountainous region north of Yanbu, is under the Madinah provincial administration. The area is surrounded by a number of extinct volcanoes.
Meanwhile, president of the Saudi Geological Survey, Zuhair Nawab, said the agency is following up volcanic activities in Bahrat Al-Shaqqah, another earthquake-prone area 240 km north of Madinah. He said his officials would immediately contact the authorities if any unusual activities were recorded.
He said though there were some activities late Friday and early yesterday, the situation is gradually returning to normal. Initial evidence of thermal measurements conducted by SGS shows that the activities are within the normal level. The tremors were between 5 and 7 km underground.
Nawab assured residents that the chances of any volcanic eruption are slim and there are no clear signs of danger in the area.
