Geologist’s Red Sea earthquake prediction dismissed as ‘personal opinions’

Authorities in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) have dismissed predictions about a potential quake in the Red Sea by a prominent Saudi geologist as ‘mere personal opinions’.

The warning comes after tens of thousands of people were killed in Turkey and neighboring Syria by the quake, which caused widespread destruction and sparked a large-scale international relief effort.

In an interview with Al Hadath TV on Friday, Abdul Aziz bin Laboun, a prominent geologist in the Kingdom, said, “This major tremor is expected and could happen at any minute. Seismic surveys show at least 1,000 tremors occur along the Red Sea. Consequently, we have to coexist with this situation, but precaution should be taken.”

“We should thoroughly read the geological history of the region. These are not incidental events. They are characteristic of the region,” Bin Laboun said without elaborating.

At the same time, the Saudi geological survey confirmed that the number of tremors that are monitored in the Red Sea does not exceed dozens per week, and they are not felt and do not constitute a danger.

The official spokesman for the Saudi geological survey, Tariq Aba Al-Khail, said in a statement reported by the Emirate of Makkah Al-Mukarramah on Saturday, “The Geological Hazards Center in the Saudi Geological Survey continuously monitors, around the clock, seismic activity in the central Red Sea region along the groove rift.”

“The seismic magnitude ranges from weak to moderate, as it is considered a tectonic tension zone as a result of the divergence of the African tectonic plate from the Arab tectonic plate, which is characterized by mostly weak to moderate seismic activity,” he added.

He indicated that “the timing and locations of earthquakes cannot be predicted,” and “everything that has been raised recently is just personal judgments that are not based on studies, follow-up, and monitoring, but rather mere predictions.”

He also explained that the Saudi Geological Survey is the concerned authority entrusted with seismic monitoring in the Kingdom, stressing the need to take the correct information from the official authorities with regard to seismic monitoring.