MADINAH/YANBU: Hundreds of people were evacuated from Al-Ais area in the Madinah province after an earthquake measuring 4.68 on the Richter scale shook the region on Sunday night.
Eight hundred people, including families, were evacuated from the villages of Al-Hadama, Al-Amid and Al-Qarasa in Al-Ais, 240 km north of Madinah, where the tremors were felt the most.
The evacuees have been housed in Madinah and Yanbu. They have been given accommodation at furnished apartments and hotels. “Several hotels and furnished apartments have been reserved for the purpose in both these cities, and hundreds of buses and trucks are being kept in readiness for any eventuality,” said a Civil Defense official in Madinah.
Madinah Gov. Prince Abdul Aziz bin Majed said the governorate was closely monitoring the situation around the clock. “All government departments and agencies have made all-out preparations to face any eventuality,” the governor said. “Those evacuated from villages in the area will receive all care and support,” he said, adding arrangements would be made for the education of their children.
The reason for the series of tremors in the region has not been identified, he said. A team from the Saudi Geological Survey is currently stationed in the area.
Prince Abdul Aziz has ordered two committees — one at the governorate and another in Al-Ais — to follow developments in the quake-hit areas and make sure that citizens are safe and receive all services. He asked the affected people to contact the governor’s office (8004420013 or 8213333) if services fall short of expectations.
The Civil Defense is ready with both personnel and equipment. Civil Defense teams have been patrolling villages where tremors have been felt in order to reassure people. The teams are also checking on the safety of buildings in the region. Emergency medical facilities are ready, too, according to Civil Defense officials.
Despite the assurances, people panicked when the cities were jolted and many spent hours on the streets after midnight Sunday.
Mild tremors have been reported from various parts of the Madinah province in the Hejaz region over the past few weeks. The most powerful, measuring 4.68 on the Richter scale, occurred Sunday night and was followed by another measuring 4.4 yesterday morning, according to the Saudi Geological Survey.
The aftershocks of the quake were also felt about 11 p.m. on Sunday by people in Madinah and the coastal city of Yanbu. Fearful residents fled their buildings and camped on the streets as some looked for safe places.
A posting on the website of the US Geological Survey referred to seismic activity measuring 4.6 on the Richter scale on Sunday night at Al-Ais. It said the epicenter of the quake was 10 km beneath the surface in Al-Ais. A second tremor, measuring 4.5 on the Richter scale and lasting four seconds, was also recorded close to the first spot at a depth of 39.3 km.
Villagers near Harrah Al-Shaqah reported a pungent smell in the area and many believe the smell comes from seismic and volcanic activity.
Maj. Gen. Saleh Al-Muhawwis of the Madinah Civil Defense assured the public that the tremors in the holy city were natural sequels to the tremors in Al-Ais. Civil Defense offices in Madinah received more than 300 calls from terrified residents on Sunday night.
“Most of the calls were to relate their experiences and ask for instructions in the event of a greater shock. There was no need to evacuate people from the buildings,” a Civil Defense source told Arab News. “The frightening experience continued for a little over a minute,” a worried man in Madinah’s Al-Awali Street said. Immediately after the quake, people reported the appearance of cracks in some old houses in the nearby town of Umlaj on the way to Tabuk. Some old mud houses were collapsed.
“It felt like the earth was spinning around me at 11 at night. At first I thought this was due to fluctuations in my sugar levels but my daughter said she too had the same experience and noticed the furniture in her room shaking. My husband also called me, saying that he had also felt strong tremors,” Umm Muhammad of Al-Jarf district in Madinah told Arab News. She added that her sons were so terrified that they refused to go to school yesterday morning and her sister said she feared that her house would collapse on her. “We felt a light tremor about 11 p.m. Then about three in the morning we woke up, experiencing a stronger tremor that shook the whole building. When we called the Civil Defense office, my father was told we should get out of the house to an open space and that he was the 55th man who had called them,” Umm Kenan, a nurse, said.
— Muhammad Al-Sheikh, Yousuf Muhammad & Nadeen Ibrahim contributed to the report
