Dubai: 5 stations, early quake warning system

Dubai Municipality has completed installation works for 5 devices in urban areas of Dubai to monitor earthquake. It was installed near some sky scrapers to watch the impact of tremors on these buildings, said Mohamed Mashroom, Director of Survey Department with the civic body. Mohamed Mashroom said installment of these new devices in addition to the current network for seismic monitoring of Dubai Municipality hopefully will support and increase the efficiency of early-earthquake- warning systems. "The new devices are similar to what are used in USA and countries in European Union for this purpose. During earthquake, these devices monitor the actual ground acceleration of seismic waves and its impacts on the buildings and will send data spontaneously using GPRS to the data processor in survey department. Main server at the main building of Municipality will carry out proper analysis and automatic mapping of seismic intensity and possible seismic-effect -range in Dubai and in whole gulf region" he explained. Eman Khatiby, Head of Geodetic and Marine Survey Section said, by these devices Municipality can inform the concerned bodies with regard to disaster management, data and maps of seismic intensity, which will help them take adequate measures in time. It's worth mentioning that it was DM that established the first quake monitor and seismic data exchange system in the country, in collaboration with National Centre for Meteorology and Seismology in Abu Dhabi, Earthquake Monitoring Centre at Sultan Qaboos University in Oman and with Kuwait Institute for Scientific Research in Seismic Observation.