Nigerians In Dubai Panic As Deadly Earthquake Hits Iran, Causes Tremors In UAE That Shook High-rise Buildings

Residents across the United Arab Emirates on Saturday reported strong tremors for a second time after a string of earthquakes hit southern Iran some hours earlier.

It was learnt that the intensity of the tremors forced several residents to gather in open areas near their homes.

Other residents reported being woken out of their sleep by the tremors or witnessing their furniture shake, according to UAE-based newspaper, Khaleej Times.

According to the directory of expatriates in the UAE by Wikipedia, the country is home to between 20,000 to 50,000 Nigerians, particularly, Nigerian political leaders and elites have often been accused of stealing government funds to buy properties in the Emirates.

The residents, including Nigerians, from various parts of the UAE felt the tremors early morning on Saturday following an earthquake measuring 6.3 in Ritcher scale in Iran.

It was learnt that there is presently panic among Nigerians who own humongous properties in the UAE over the natural disaster.

SaharaReporters had in the recent past done reports about the former Chief of Army Staff, Lt Gen Tukur Buratai (retd.), the Nigerian First Lady, Aisha Buhari, the presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party, Atiku Abubakar, among others who frequent Dubai and own choice properties in the UAE. 

The Social media is currently abuzz with people reporting how they felt tremors following the earthquake.

According to the UAE National Centre for Meteorology (NCM), the earthquake was recorded in southern Iran at 1.32am at a depth of 10km.

The NCM also confirmed that the tremors were felt in the UAE but without any effects.

Many residents took to Twitter to share videos of the impact on ceiling lights and other things after the tremors.

At least five people were killed and 49 injured by a magnitude 6.1 earthquake in southern Iran, the state media also reported, with the area also hit soon after by two strong quakes of up to 6.3 magnitude.

Some 24 tremors, two with a magnitude of 6.3 and 6.1, followed the 2am local time quake that flattened the village of Sayeh Khosh near Iran’s Gulf coast in Hormozgan province.

The most recent tremor occurred around 8 am, officials told state TV.

“All of the victims died in the first earthquake and no-one was harmed in the next two severe quakes as people were already outside their homes,” said Foad Moradzadeh, governor of Bandar Lengeh country, quoted by the state news agency IRNA.

Emergency services spokesperson Mojtaba Khaledi told state TV that half of the 49 people injured had been discharged from hospitals.

Saeid Pourzadeh of the Kish island crisis task force said Gulf shipping and flights had not been affected by the quakes.

State TV said 150 quakes and tremors had struck western Hormozgan over the past month.

Major geological fault lines crisscross Iran, which has suffered several devastating earthquakes in recent years. In 2003, a magnitude 6.6 quake in Kerman province killed 31,000 people and flattened the ancient city of Bam.