Prof. Ahmed Malaaba
An earthquakemeasuring 5.5 on the Richter scale struck east of the Syrian cityof Hamaat approximately 12:with its epicenter at a depth of 10 kilometers, according to the Jordanian, German, and otherinternational seismologicalobservatories. The quake injured 21 people; no deaths were reported. It was felt by residents of Jordan, Lebanon, Turkey, and Cyprus.
This earthquake was preceded three hours earlier bya3.9-magnitudeearthquake… and was followed several minutes later by four aftershocks ranging in magnitude from 3.9 to less than 3.
** Fault orientation: north-south
AftertheGreat AnatolianEarthquake, theArabianPlate began to return to a state of stability as the potential energy stored in the major earthquakes in Anatolia was released and the Antakya fault became inactive.
However, due to the presence of extended faults in the region near the northern edge of theArabianPlate, a collision zone between theArabianand Eurasian plates, and an epi-volcanic zone in the Kasab and Ras al-Basit areas of the cities of Latakia and Jableh, weak to moderate seismic activity occurred 3 km from the Zagrin area north of Syria, triggering several tremors and earthquakes in the region, the most significant of which wasa5.5-magnitudeearthquake.
