21 May 2009

Volcanic tremors recorded in Saudi Arabia

8:50 am on 21 May 2009

More people are to be evacuated from a volcanic region in northwestern Saudi Arabia because tremors shaking the area for weeks, are growing in strength.

The Saudi Geological Survey says the al-Ais region could experience earthquakes measuring 6.5 on the Richter scale.

An emergency zone has been extended to 40km.

The region is 240km from the holy city of Medina, but is not close to any oil or petrochemical facilities.

An earthquake measuring 5.4 was recorded in the al-Ais region on Tuesday, after a 4.8 tremor.