Did I just feel that?
The UAE itself is quiet, but the mountains of southern Iran across the Gulf are one of the most active earthquake zones on Earth. Big ones there are sometimes felt in towers in the UAE. Make a guess, then see recent earthquakes in the region and how strongly each one might have reached you.
Earthquakes near the UAE
Simplified map. Circle size shows magnitude. The blue dot is you.
How strongly you might feel it
Why the UAE feels quakes from far away
The UAE sits on the stable Arabian plate. The busy part is where that plate pushes into Iran.
Across the Gulf in Iran, the Arabian plate pushes under the Zagros range. It is one of the most active earthquake zones in the world, and strong quakes there are sometimes felt in the Northern Emirates.
Off the coasts of southern Iran and Pakistan, the sea floor slides under the land. The National Center of Meteorology counts it as the second main source of shaking near the UAE.
Distant large earthquakes send out slow, rolling waves. Tall buildings sway in step with them, so people on high floors in Dubai or Abu Dhabi can feel a quake that people on the ground miss.
The UAE does have its own small quakes, mostly in the mountains around Masafi and Fujairah. Most are below magnitude 3 and are barely felt. The largest in the national record was about magnitude 5, near Masafi in 2002.
How the estimate works
Shaking at your spot depends mostly on two things: how big the earthquake was, and how far away you are. Each step up in magnitude releases about 32 times more energy. The shaking then fades with distance, quickly at first and then more slowly.
We use a formula by Atkinson, Worden and Wald (2014) that turns magnitude and distance into a shaking level on the Modified Mercalli scale, from I (not felt) to X (extreme). It counts the quake's depth as part of the distance.
Local ground and buildings change the shaking a lot. The UAE's National Center of Meteorology runs its own seismic network and reports small local quakes that may not appear here.
The ground starts shaking. What do you do?
Drop, take cover under a sturdy table, and hold on. Protect your head and face. Stay away from windows, mirrors, shelves and hanging things. Don't run outside while it shakes, and don't use the lift.
Move to an open space away from buildings, walls, trees and power lines. If you're driving, pull over somewhere safe, away from bridges and tunnels, and stay in the car until the shaking stops.
Check yourself and others for injuries. If you smell gas, don't light anything: open windows, leave and report it. Expect aftershocks. In an emergency call 999 (police), 998 (ambulance) or 997 (civil defence).
Sources: US Geological Survey (USGS), "Global earthquake numbers on par in 2015": about 14,500 earthquakes of magnitude 4 or more a year worldwide, roughly 40 a day. Live data: USGS earthquake summary feeds, refreshed every five minutes while this page is open. National Center of Meteorology (NCM), as reported by Khaleej Times: the Zagros and Makran sources, a national network of 25 broadband seismic stations, and the magnitude 5 Masafi earthquake of 2002 as the largest in the national record. NCM reports of a magnitude 2.8 quake at Masafi (January 2024) and a magnitude 2.0 quake at Al Halah, Fujairah (April 2026). Shaking estimate: Atkinson, Worden and Wald (2014), Bulletin of the Seismological Society of America. What to do: NCM safety advice and Dubai Municipality's Earthquake Safety Instructions. Your location is used only on your device to measure distances and is not sent or saved.