List of earthquakes in Saudi Arabia

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Earthquakes in Saudi Arabia are infrequent and usually occur in the western portion of the country near the Red Sea or the Gulf of Aqaba.

DateRegion Mag. MMI DeathsInjuriesComments
2009-05-19 Al Madinah 5.7 Mw7Landslides [1]
2009-05-17 Umluj 4.6 MbHomes damaged or destroyed [2]
2004-06-09 Tabuk Region 4.6 MLMinor damage [3]
1995-11-22 Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Israel, Jordan7.3 MwVIII9–1230–69Moderate damage / tsunami
1072Yemen, Saudi ArabiaVIII50Moderate damage [4]
1068-03-18 Ramla, Jerusalem, Tabuk ≥ 7.0IX~ 20,000Extreme damage
551-07-09 Lebanon, Egypt, Iraq, Saudi Arabia7.5 MwIX30,000+Tsunami
Note: The inclusion criteria for adding events are based on WikiProject Earthquakes' notability guideline that was developed for stand alone articles. The principles described also apply to lists. In summary, only damaging, injurious, or deadly events should be recorded.

See also

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lists of earthquakes</span>

Earthquakes are caused by movements within the Earth's crust and uppermost mantle. They range from weak events detectable only by seismometers, to sudden and violent events lasting many minutes which have caused some of the greatest disasters in human history. Below, earthquakes are listed by period, region or country, year, magnitude, cost, fatalities, and number of scientific studies.

The 1982 North Yemen earthquake hit near the city of Dhamar, North Yemen on December 13. Measuring 6.2 on the moment magnitude scale, with a maximum perceived intensity of VIII (Severe) on the Mercalli intensity scale, as many as 2,800 people were killed and another 1,500 injured. The shock occurred within several hundred kilometers of a plate boundary in a geologically complex region that includes active volcanoes and seafloor spreading ridges. Yemen has a history of destructive earthquakes, though this was the first instrumentally recorded event to be detected on global seismograph networks.

The 1995 Gulf of Aqaba earthquake occurred on November 22 at 06:15 local time and registered 7.3 on the Mw scale. The epicenter was located in the central segment of the Gulf of Aqaba, the narrow body of water that separates Egypt's Sinai Peninsula from the western border of Saudi Arabia. At least 8 people were killed and 30 were injured in the meizoseismal area.

The 1941 Sa'dah earthquake or the Jabal Razih earthquake occurred on January 11 in Razih District of the Mutawakkilite Kingdom of Yemen. The earthquake had a surface-wave magnitude of 5.8–6.5 and a shallow focal depth. Despite the moderate size of this earthquake, an estimated 1,200 people perished and at least 200 injured. With a maximum MSK-64 intensity assigned at VIII, it destroyed many villages and collapsed homes in the region of North Yemen.

References

  1. ↑ "M5.7 – western Saudi Arabia". United States Geological Survey.
  2. ↑ "M4.6 – western Saudi Arabia". United States Geological Survey.
  3. ↑ "M4.6 – western Saudi Arabia". United States Geological Survey.
  4. ↑ NGDC 1972

Sources

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