Does the United Arab Emirates have earthquakes?

Answer 1

Yes, UAE has faced some minor earthquakes.

Over the years in the United Arab Emirates there have been quite a few minor earthquakes. The UAE is not safe from earthquakes as originally thought. Indeed, there are now are several Earthquake monitoring groups from the United States of America and local ones in the UAE.

The earthquakes have varied in magnitude and every year some are felt especially from tremors from Earthquakes in Iran. Indeed many Iranian earthquakes have been felt in the UAE.

On 11th, March 2002, there was a magnitude 5.1 earthquakein Fujeirah, and on September 10, 2008, a magnitude of 4.9 tremors struck off the coast of Sharjah.

Many people of the region however, do not really realise that international earthquake experts who monitor the whole world for earthquakes, have put the UAE in the same danger class as California, many parts of Iran and Turkey.

In the latest Globe Report of Natural Hazards by Munich Re, the UAE was classed as Zone 2-MM VII which rates it very strongon its earthquake scales.

Now, in the UAE, earthquake standards regarding the construction of high-rise buildings have been implemented.

Earthquake monitoring centers in the UAE are :

The National Centre of Meteorology and Seismology (NCMS)

UAE's National Seismic Network - an affiliate of the UAE National Centre for Meteorology and Seismology.

Dubai Municipality's Local Earthquake Monitoring Network