RIYADH, May 20 (Reuters) - Authorities were preparing to evacuate more people from a volcanic region in northwestern Saudi Arabia because tremors which have been shaking the area for weeks have been growing in strength, an official said. The volcanic al-Ais region could suffer earthquakes measuring 6.5 on the Richter scale, said Zuhair Nawab, president of the Saudi Geological Survey (SGS). "We have extended the (extent of the emergency) ... zones to 40 km (24 miles)," said Nawab. The region lies 240 km from the holy city of Medina and 150 km from the port of Yanbu on the Red Sea. It is not close to the world's top oil exporter's oil or petrochemical facilities. A quake measuring 5.4 hit the al-Ais region on Tuesday, just hours after a 4.8 tremor. Authorities evacuated villages on a 20-km radius from al-Ais volcano after a tremor on Sunday, which newspapers said caused some cracks to open up in the ground. Fears of an eruption in dormant volcanoes in al-Ais sent panic stricken residents fleeing to Medina and Yanbu last week. The last volcanic eruption in the area was 700 years ago, according to the SGS. Al-Ais, an ancient resting place for caravans travelling between the western and southern cities of the Arabian Peninsula and Syria, has an estimated population of around 60,000. (Reporting by Asma Alsharif; Editing by Jon Boyle)
NASAs Aqua satellite captured this image of the aftermath of the eruption Alaskas Mount Redoubt erupted on March 26, 2009, and released by NASA March 30, 2009. The volcano sent a ...
