A series of earthquakes occurred near Harrat Lunayyir volcano in north east Saudi Arabia on Tuesday 19th May 2009. The largest earthquake measured magnitude 5.7. The earthquakes produced cracks in the ground. A total of 2,289 people, including 326 families, were evacuated from a 20 km radius around the volcano, 240 km north of Madinah. Evacuees were housed in Yanbu. The evacuations took place as 30 earthquakes were recorded between 3 and 5.4 on the Richter scale. Local authorities have announced the closure of schools for two weeks starting Saturday in Umlaj.
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About John Seach
- John Seach
- John Seach is a scientist and the world's leading volcano adventurer. Over the past 24 years John has traveled to the world's most exciting volcanoes, and witnessed eruptions during trips to more than 200 volcanoes. John's work has been featured on award winning television programmes. John is the founder of "Volcano Live", the world's first volcano news and volcano travel website.