Iraq to install 16 earthquake early warning stations across the country

The Iraqi General Authority for Meteorology and Seismic Monitoring announced the installation of 11 seismic monitoring stations across Iraq's northern, western and southern borders with Syria and Turkey.

After Turkey's devastating earthquakes on 6 February, Iraq experienced several aftershocks and small tremors, particularly in areas near the Turkish and Syrian borders.   

"We are working to install 11 seismic monitoring stations across our borders with Turkey and Syria that have been an active area of major magnitudes," Amir al-Jabiri, official spokesperson of the Iraqi General Authority for Meteorology and Seismic Monitoring told Iraq's al-Sabah newspaper.  

He added that installing the stations was extremely necessary for Iraq to monitor any seismic activities. 

He also added that they would increase the number of stations to ensure continual monitoring of any seismic activity. 

Meanwhile, a 4.3 earthquake shook Kurdistan's capital city of Erbil early Saturday. The quake's epicentre was between Erbil and Mosul. Another earthquake also struck the Rutba area of Anbar province west of Iraq.

No casualties or major damages were reported from the two earthquakes according to Dilan Rashad, spokesperson of the Kurdistan Regional Government ministry of communication and transportations, who spoke to The New Arab.

He also noted that there is presently no coordination between the Kurdish Regional Government and Iraq's General Authority for Meteorology and Seismic Monitoring, and Kurdish officials were not aware of plans to install seismic monitoring stations.

He stressed that the KRG has its own earthquake monitoring stations in all areas across the Kurdistan region.