Seismic Data Centers around the NEOM project area indicated that the earthquakes in this region range between latitudes 28.5 degrees and 29.0 degrees. Data also indicated that earthquakes occur in the Gulf of Aqaba in isolated sequences, among them four distinct sequences emerged in 1983, 1990, 1993 and 1995.
It appeared that they were medium-sized earthquakes according to the Richter seismic scale, but the seismic sequence that occurred in 1995 was severe and had a great impact on the region, where the shock magnitude came to 7.2 MW with the maximum intensity of IX (modified Mercali intensity, MMI, scale) in the central area, including the location of the NEOM project city located in that area.
Catastrophic Results
The centers that issued this data said that this earthquake of 1995, resulted in the killing of least 11 people and 47 others were injured.
Moreover, the effects of the earthquake spread and caused damage in many parts of the Egyptian Sinai Peninsula, as one person was killed and two were slightly injured.
In the Eilat area, one person died of a heart attack and several people were injured due to the state of panic among citizens, and several dangers occurred due to the power outages in the area.
The earthquake measurement and monitoring centers confirmed that all the population in Sudan in the south to the states of Lebanon and Syria in the north had felt the effects of that earthquake.
Some of those geological centers concluded that these seismic activities have a great impact on the terrestrial nature of the area, and therefore they may pose a dangerous threat to human life and the strategic projects established in the NEOM area.
To address these dangerous problems, a map of earthquake intensity in that region was created by ArcGIS through the spatial distribution of seismic centers to identify anomalous regions in the NEOM project area, and the earthquake intensity was calculated using the extension of the core density analyzer for ArcMap 10.2 to assess the amount per unit area. Derivation of the seismic intensity map for the NEOM region was made, while taking into account the earthquakes, their light and severe effects since 1900 to 2019.
The specialized centers have also determined the angle of the slope as the highest factor that may represent a severe risk at the time of earthquakes, as it is known that steep slopes represent the maximum and largest weights for the occurrence of landslides due to the occurrence of severe earthquakes, which requires a very focused and accurate study.
Based on this equation, weights were assigned to all categories of slopes in descending order. Research centers have also monitored the presence of severe bends in degrees of curvature, and those bends represent a severe danger and an accurate factor in evaluating landslides.
These are important environmental factors that have not been publicized regarding the NEOM project, as a result, many environmental and geological research centers offer practical recommendations to combat earthquakes in that region, especially with the Vision 2030 announced by Saudi Crown Prince MBS.
Do investors believe that the Saudi government may take these recommendations in consideration, to be in the safe side, or the only important things is to fulfill the dream of the Crown Prince regardless of anything, for this city to be built on the blood of Huwaitat tribe and others blood yet to be shed.
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