QUAKE SHAKES AMMAN: NO DAMAGE REPORTED

UNCLAS AMMAN 005623 SIPDIS STATE FOR NEA/ARN, OBO/FAC, OES E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: SENV AMGT EAID JO SUBJECT: QUAKE SHAKES AMMAN: NO DAMAGE REPORTED REF: AMMAN 1080 ¶1. At 17:35 local, on Wednesday, July 7, a 4.6 magnitude earthquake was felt in Amman. The Jordan Seismological Observatory of the Natural Resources Authority and the Public Security Directorate told us that no damage has so far been reported in Amman or elsewhere. ¶2. The epicenter of the quake was located in the northern Dead Sea region, between Al-Karama and the Dead Sea itself. This location was farther north than the February 11 4.9 magnitude quake reported in reftel. ¶3. A Seismological Observatory official passed to Embassy his initial assessment that such small quakes help relieve the strains on faults and are not generally of concern. GNEHM