Ras Al Kaimah Residents Still Remember the Earth Quake Shake

RAS AL KHAIMAH - Residents of the Ras Al Kaimah emirates feel scared when they look at the cracks on the building walls created by a minor earthquake that shook the region two years back. This was the first time that an earthquake happened in the RAK region, which lies geographically close to Iran - a seismically active country. "The earthquake created minor cracks on several buildings in the area. "My shop building had a developed a major crack due to that earthquake. Now I have repaired it," says a Malayali merchant, who resides in the area. The first earthquake happened in the early morning and it was followed by an after shock.

Around 2 houses in the not so densely populated area were affected by the shock and their building walls had cracks. It shows the earthquake was a small one. Fortunately it was a minor one and there was no casualty," recollects Majeed, a Malayali who is living there for the last 25 years. He cannot recollect any such quakes during the twenty-five years' history of the region. "The Government gave compensation to around 20 Arab families whose buildings were affected by the earthquake. If my memory is correct, it coincided with the major earthquake in Iran that killed several thousand people. Before the minor earthquake, dogs were making strange noises and the quake happened around 2 am. It affected mainly Al Ain, Hatta, Asma and Masafi areas," he added.

The RAK Red Crescent society gave tent to the families affected and some leading Shaikhs also helped the Arabs who lived in old houses. "It is an ideal place for ordinary people like us to live. Rent is reasonable - monthly rent for a good flat is between Dhs.300 to Dhs. 500. There are forty to fifty Malayalis who are living in the area. Totally there are only 82 Malayalis here - 60 of them work in the Masafi water company.
The mountainous area is a route followed by the human traffickers to bring illegal immigrants from Iran, Pakistan and Afghanistan. "These people are left in the mountains lying in the Iran UAE boarder are.

They used to come walking long distances and it was a common scene to see tired Pathans and Iranians coming in groups. They will come and ask for water and water. They used to take rest and proceed further to Dubai," recollects a resident. According to him, on certain occasions the local citizens spot illegal migrants coming down from mountaintops and alerted the police. There is an outpost of the internal security department who monitors the boarder towns for drug smugglers and human traffickers from Iran," added another resident. A few years back there was a major police operation to crack down a major drug smuggling syndicate. "Police came on a helicopter to chase drug peddlers from Iran. It was a major event in the area," he recollects. (KM Special)

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