A 4.8 magnitude minor earthquake on Richter scale hit the Red Sea Governorate at 7:10 P.M. Monday, January 30th at the area between Northeast of Hurghada and Southwest Sharm el-Sheikh in Egypt. The earthquake’s coordinates are: latitude 69.27⁰ and longitude 07.34^o; hypocenter was 1.5 km under the surface of the sea. Dr. Jalal Dabbeek, Director of the Urban Planning and Disaster Risk Reduction Center at An-Najah, said the earthquake’s hypocenter was less than 10 km below the surface of the earth which is relatively shallow.

Earthquakes with a magnitude less than 5 on Richter scale are considered relatively minor ones and should not pose any threat to constructional and non constructional elements.

The Red Sea area has been subject to a number of minor earthquakes over the last few years; however, the chance for a major earthquake in the future is there based on the nature of the region, its location and its seismic cycle, said Dr. Dabbeek.

According to the seismic plan, the region which includes Al-Aqaba, the Dead Sea, the Jordan Valley, northern Palestine, Finger of the Galilee, as well as the borders between Lebanon and Syria are considered as seismic areas that have been subject to major earthquakes over the course of history.

Dr. Dabbeek stressed that in order to reduce the risk of seismic disasters there is an aching need to address the issue of disasters as a national priority that is established on a solid, executable institutional platform according to clear regulations and law. This includes the reduction of buildings’ vulnerability to earthquakes and building the institutions’ and individuals’ capacity to deal with disastrous situations.

For more information on the earthquakes that the region is subject to please refer to the Earthquake Bulletin that is issued by the Seismic Engineering and Disaster Risk Reduction Unit on the University’s website: http://www.najah.edu/page/4010