Muscat: Two back-to-back earthquakes were recorded closer to Oman by the Earthquake Monitoring Centre at Sultan Qaboos University in the last 24 hours but there were no reports of damage to property or loss of life.

While an earthquake measuring 4.8-magnitude was reported in the Arabian Gulf around midnight, the other was reported from southern Iran with 4.2-magnitude on Tuesday evening.

Speaking to Times of Oman, Dr Issa Al Hussain, director, Earthquake Monitoring Centre, Sultan Qaboos University (SQU), said that they record around 150 earthquakes from all over the globe every month.

"Locally we record around four to five quakes every month but most of them are weak and its epicenter is far away from Oman,-ย he said. But given Oman's close vicinity to where the Arabian plates meet the Eurasian plates, how much risk does it pose to the Sultanate?

Earthquake potential ๏ปฟ

Dr Hussain said places like Khasab and Musandam in northern Oman have earthquake potential as the Arabian plates meet the Eurasian plates. "But we have to remember that Oman lies in the low risk zone so there is little chance of earthquake,-ย he added. Though having a little chance, tsunami did hit the Sultanate on November 27, 1945, following an earthquake situated offshore Pakistan. "That time the epicentre of the earthquake was Makran region where we recorded 8.1-magnititude,-ย he said.

Another expert said that the southern part of Oman is also at risk from tsunamis generated offshore in Indonesia.

"However, the wave height there is not likely to be very high as demonstrated following the earthquake in 2004, when the tsunami reached only 3m in Oman,-ย another expert said.

The social media has been abuzz since last night with many concerned residents taking to Twitter and Facebook to confirm if indeed there was an earthquake that had things rattling in their wake.

However, Hussain denied reports about mild tremors that residents of Oman reportedly said they had felt. "While one of them was 542km away from Muscat, the other was 671km away from Muscat so it is not possible that it affected the Oman residents,-ย he added.

Through a network of 21 seismic stations at various locations across the Sultanate, the Earthquake Monitoring Centre is capable of registering and measuring shock-waves of all sizes.