UAE records minor earthquake on Oman border

Magnitude-2.1 tremor happened on Wednesday night in Al Fayy, seismologists say

A minor earthquake has been felt close to the UAE's border with Oman. Hayley Skirka / The National

A minor earthquake was recorded on the UAE's border with Oman on Wednesday night.

Seismologists at the National Centre of Meteorology recorded the magnitude-2.1 tremor in Al Fayy area of the Emirates at about 11.30pm.

While earthquakes are rare in the country, tremors related to quakes in Iran are more common.

In November last year, mild tremors were reported in the UAE after a magnitude-5.3 earthquake struck Iran.

A year earlier, tremors were felt in Dubai after two consecutive earthquakes in Iran, recorded at magnitudes of 6.2 and 6.7.

Smaller quakes are recorded relatively infrequently in the Emirates.

In March, a micro-earthquake with a 1.9-magnitude occurred off the coast of Fujairah.

NCM's National Seismic Network said the tremor was recorded off the coast of Dibba at a depth of 17km.

It said the seismic activity was "slightly felt by the residents and without any effect in the UAE".

Micro-earthquakes are recorded by seismographs and sometimes felt by people in the area. Anything below a magnitude of 2 can be detected by instruments, while anything from 2 to 2.9 may cause hanging objects to swing.