DM to discuss seismic hazards in the Gulf

The seminar, titled "Seismic Hazards in the Gulf" will be held on Wednesday 11 April 2007 at City Hall from 9 a.m. to 12.30 p.m., and is organised in association with Hyder Consulting.

Osama Al Safi, Head of Qualification and Building Studies Section at the Buildings Department of the municipality, said the seminar would be addressed by Angus McFarlane and Grahame Bunce of Hyder Consulting Middle East Ltd.

He said several seismic hazard studies for the Arabian Gulf, that were reviewed and discussed in the past, have been found to be contradictory, with seismic hazard in the Gulf States ranging from almost a seismic to high seismic risk. Therefore a new seismic hazard assessment is presented in the seminar.

The new assessment uses a simple and transparent procedure, in combination with conservative assumptions. The assessment was checked against three independent site-specific seismic studies and an excellent correlation is achieved. This suggests that the estimate of seismic hazard presented in the seminar is reliable and conservative. The assessment indicates that the seismic hazard in the UAE, Qatar, and Bahrain is significantly below UBC97 Zone 2A - only parts of Kuwait approach Zone 2A.

He noted that the seminar would look into the current design standards in Dubai as well as the geotechnical hazard from earthquake-induced motion.