More than 2,000 people have now been evacuated from quake-hit villages in western Saudi Arabia as violent tremors continue and fears of a volcanic eruption mount, Saudi daily Arab News reported on Thursday.
Authorities on Tuesday declared a state of emergency in part of the Al-Madinah Province and ordered a complete evacuation of the area, known as Al-Ais, after another quake measuring 5.6 on the Richter scale struck.
Hundreds of people have been leaving villages in the area over the last few days, with newspapers reporting roads as being “choked with people leaving for open areas”.
Authorities have ordered residents of Harrah al-Shaqah, the epicentre of the tremors, to stay outside a 40 km radius of the village after dangerous gases and unusually hot air and water in wells started coming up from the ground, Arab News reported.
A Civil Defence source told the newspaper the discoveries suggested an eruption was likely.
There have been no fatalities reported, but older buildings have been damaged, according to local media.
Authorities began evacuating people on Monday and have so far moved 2,289 people, who are being offered emergency accommodation in nearby Yanbu, the paper said.
The area has experienced around 30 tremors of varying magnitudes, measuring between 3 and 5.4 on the Richter scale, in just the 24 hours up to 2 p.m. on Wednesday, the paper said.
In the villages left behind, market stalls stacked with produce stood idle, while labourers waited for buses to take them to safety.