The earthquake that hit the southern part of the Kingdom earlier this month did not damage school buildings in the Sabya governorate in Jazan, a committee here has found.
"There was no damage to school buildings in the Sabya governorate because of the recent earthquake," said Abdul Latif Zakari, director of safety and security in the Sabya education administration, at a meeting on Friday. The meeting of the emergency committee of the education administration had discussed the impact on local schools.
Ahmed Ali Rabei, director of education in Sabya, said schools should launch awareness programs about emergency situations. Action should only be taken on the basis of information provided by school safety coordinators, he said.
The committee also urged schools to set up emergency rooms with telephone lines to the security and safety administration to reassure parents and guardians about the safety of their children.
Participants at the meeting included Civil Defense officials from the governorates of Sabya and Beesh and members of other government agencies.
An earthquake registering 5.1 on the Richter scale, at a depth of 10 km, struck the southwestern part of the Kingdom, centering on Jazan, on Jan. 24.
Residents in Asir and Najran felt the impact of the quake, according to postings on social networking sites. Many said that their doors and windows rattled because of the quake, according to local media sources.
Saudi Arabia registered more than 9,000 tremors in 2012, of which 6,212 — the highest in a single region — were at Harrat Al-Shaqqah, followed by Madinah with 1,140.
‘Quake did not damage schools in Sabya’
