Prince Miteb Downplays Saudi Al-Ais Tremors, Describing It As Normal

17 May 2009

JEDDAH: Prince Miteb bin Abdullah, assistant deputy commander of the National Guard for military affairs, yesterday downplayed the tremors in Al-Ais, about 250 km north of Madinah, and said the activities did not require the deployment of military forces.

“The tremors in Al-Ais are normal. Such tremors occur often and do not require the deployment of military forces as the Civil Defense is capable of dealing with such incidents,” he said.

Speaking to reporters after inspecting the National Guard complex in the Western Sector, Prince Miteb disclosed plans to construct 17,000 villas to expand housing facilities for National Guard officers in various parts of the Kingdom.

“We are now holding talks with a number of companies to carry out this housing project,” he said.

Referring to the growing pressure on the National Guard Hospital, he said this was because of its location on the Jeddah-Makkah Expressway and its proximity to Bahra. “We are now thinking about solutions for this problem,” he added.

On arrival at the complex, Prince Miteb was received by Prince Khaled bin Faisal bin Turki, deputy commander of the National Guard for the Western Sector, and other high-ranking officers.

Harrah Al-Shaqah and other villages in Al-Ais division measured five on the Richter scale. The area, close to the epicenter of the current subterranean activities in the extinct volcanoes in Madinah province, witnessed tremors that reports said measured around five on the Richter scale.

“None of the tremors registered in the region exceeded 3.9 on the Richter scale,” Hani Zahran, director at the center, told Arab News on telephone yesterday evening.

However, Zahran advised people — as a precautionary measure ­— to stay away from old or dilapidated houses in villages of Al-Qarasa, Al-Maramiya and Al-Hadama, where the tremors were comparatively more intense.

“Harrah Al-Shaqah area which includes Al-Hadama and Al-Ruwaidah villages, registered 24 tremors, the strongest measuring 3.6 on the Richter scale between Thursday midnight and yesterday afternoon,” the Saudi Press Agency reported yesterday.

Meanwhile, the earthquake control room at Al-Ais town received frantic calls from local residents expressing their concern.

Commander of the Civil Defense force in charge of Al-Ais Col. Zuhair Sabieh said his teams were ready to deal with any emergency having sufficient number of personnel and equipment.

“Our teams discovered some cracks in old buildings in the villages though they did not pose any threat to the safety of people living there and so did not warrant evacuation. We are closely watching the situation round the clock” the officer said.

He added that his office was issuing daily bulletins after monitoring developments in the area.

Most residents in Al-Ais contacted by Arab News expressed reluctance to leave their homes and farms unless the tremors were strong enough to pose serious threat to their safety.

A local resident, Faisal bin Aeq, said he did not think that the current tremors were a major threat.

On the other hand, many people in Al-Hadama, Al-Jarafa and Al-Amid villages with a total population of 6,000, and close to the current subterranean activities, said they preferred to stay away from the area until the tremors subsided.

Arab News yesterday reported that people of the Al-Ais area were in a state of near panic especially after they heard thunder-like noises in the early hours on Thursday.

EsinIslam.Com