Earthquake Off The Coast Of Hadhramout

It has been reported that today morning, Sunday, May the 5th at about 11.20 AM Makkah Time (8.20 UTC Time) there was a moderate earthquake off the coast of Hadhramout (about 145 km. from Mukalla). According to the United States Geological Survey, the earthquake measured 4.9 on the Richter scale at a depth of 10.11 km.

Event Time
Sunday, 5 May 08:20:37 UTC
Local time at epicenter: Sun, 5 May 2013 11:20 AM
Magnitude and Depth
Magnitude: 4.9
Depth: 10.11 km
Location
Epicenter latitude / longitude: 13.3094°N / 49.5963°E
Nearest volcano: Harra of Bal Haf (160 km. from epicenter)
Nearby Cities
1. 134km (83mi) SSE of Burum, Hadhramaut
2. 145km (90mi) SSE of Al Mukalla, Hadhramaut
3. 205km (127mi) N of Qandala, Somalia
4. 224km (139mi) NW of Bereeda, Somalia

It is very rare for earthquakes to be felt In Hadhramout. But today morning, most people in Mukalla felt tremors. Even the elderly and children. Most said they felt the ground slightly move or shake. Some said that during the tremor, their motorcycles parked outside their homes, fell down; some said cups or glasses fell on/from shelves or tables; or they could notice clothes hanging on walls slightly move. Some working in offices, noticed a slight movement of their desktop computers. Many said they heard a kind of 'booming' sound during the tremor. Reportedly - after the tremors, there was a slight change in the weather of Mukalla: it became slightly windy and cooler.

No Arab country is prepared for managing disasters associated with storms or tsunamis or earthquakes. Least of all Yemen. I still recall the suffering and the misery many people went through during the last major disaster to have struck Hadhramaut. Very thankfully, this time, there hasn't been any damage or negative effect reported, so far, due to the quake.