Northern region hit with two light earthquakes

AMMAN — Two earthquakes on Wednesday struck the northern region of the Kingdom, 50 kilometres away from western Irbid, measuring 4.2 and 3.2 on the Richter scale.

Jordan Seismological Observatory (JSO) Director Mahmoud Qaryouti said that the first earthquake, centred in Lake Tiberias, took place at 4:50am, measuring 4.2 on the Richter scale at a depth of 10 kilometres, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported.

Qaryouti added that the second tremour hit the same area eight minutes later and measured 3.2 on the Richter scale at a depth of 10 kilometres. 

The seismologist said that residents of the northern region of the Kingdom, especially Irbid and its suburbs, felt the first earthquake.

In late November, 2016, the JSO recorded an earthquake measuring 4.8 on the Richter scale, which struck an area 100 kilometres away from the southern city of Aqaba.

An earthquake measuring 5.1 on the Richter scale, followed by four aftershocks, struck Aqaba on May 16, 2016 and no causalities or damages were reported.

In November, 1995, Aqaba was struck by a strong earthquake that measured 7.3 on the Richter scale, according to Petra.

Jordan is located along the Syrian-African fault line which runs along the western border, part of the Great Rift Valley, approximately 6,000 kilometres in length, which runs from Lebanon's Beqaa Valley in Asia to Mozambique in southeastern Africa.