ABSTRACT
The Red Sea and its surrounding area cover a wide region, which is subject to a significant level of seismic activity and seismic hazard due to the spreading, rifting and strike-slip processes associated with the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden. The rift system was strongly affected during the Cenozoic time by tectonic phases related to the interaction between the Arabian and the African shields. The input parameters used for the computations of hazard were obtained from the recent catalogue of the Red Sea region compiled by Babiker et al. Based on geological, seismological, and tectonic data, thirteen seismic source zones have been identified, eight of which are onshore in western Saudi Arabia, Yemen, the Afar region and Ethiopia. The five remaining zones are offshore in the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden. Attenuation relations for the Red Sea region do not exist, so those of Joyner and Boore were used. Peak ground acceleration caused by earthquakes is mapped for exposure times of 50, 100 and 200 years at the 90% probability level of non-exceedance.
