A minor earthquake, measuring three on the Richter Scale, hit Hart Village, 160 km north of Al-Ahsa, on Wednesday, said Col. Mansour Muhammad Al-Dowsari, spokesman of the Civil Defense in the Eastern Province. Citizens in Hart said they felt the tremors. Al-Dowsari said the Civil Defense received a report from the National Center of Earthquakes and Volcanoes at the Saudi Geological Survey (SGS) that the tremor occurred at 3.59 A.M. on Wednesday in Hart. He said the safety patrols of the Civil Defense combed the area and no loss of life or damage to property was reported. He said that this was not the first tremor experienced in the village. There were several tremors in the area one year ago. Hani Mahmood Zahran, Director General of the National Center for Earthquakes and Volcanoes at the SGS, said the center had monitored a tremor of 3.01 on the Richter Scale that hit Hart at a depth of four kilometers. The official stressed that the tremor did not pose any hazard or risk. He said a technical committee, posted in the area, is studying the causes of the tremors, especially since the village is located in an area near oil fields. He said more than 4,000 tremors had hit the area in less than five years. He said the committee held a series of meetings to discuss the seismological, geological and structural nature of the region. He said the available information is not enough to explain the real causes of the tremors. The committee stressed the importance of determining the precise depth of the seismological activity and its effects on oil, gas traps and faults in the area. The committee will determine whether there is a relationship between the seismological activity and the extraction of oil and injection of water. __
