Freshman Olea Cebotarean had just finished asking her classmate, freshman Benny Lu about earthquakes in Shanghai. She returned to her room and sat at her desk, when suddenly she felt dizzy. Moments later, she realized that the blinds were shaking.

“It took five to 10 seconds to realize it was an earthquake,” Cebotarean said.

On April 9 at 3:52 p.m., the shock waves from a 6.3 magnitude earthquake in that hit Khvormuj, Iran shook the city of Abu Dhabi. The tremors were followed by another 7.8 magnitude earthquake on April 16 at 2:44 p.m.

“The tremors experienced last week [were] not the first time,” said Director of Public Safety Martin Barnett. “[The were] felt in Abu Dhabi and the attention of our community. These are very rare occurrences.”

Coming from Japan, a nation sitting on top of the world’s major tectonic plates, freshman Shintaro Hashimoto thought he had escaped earthquakes for good when he came to Abu Dhabi.

“I was sitting in my class at DTC and my desk suddenly shook,” Hashimoto said. “I was used to earthquakes in Japan, but I wasn't expecting to experience an earthquake in Abu Dhabi.”

In response to the earthquake on April 9, several buildings in the city were cleared while some companies dismissed their workers for the day. After consulting management at each facility and local agencies, NYUAD decided not to issue instructions to evacuate.

To ensure the safety of the community, Public Safety posted an announcement of safety tips on the Student Portal for both students and staff. Guidelines include dropping to the ground and taking cover under a sturdy piece of furniture to protect one’s head from falling objects, keeping away from windows, doors and walls, and staying indoors until the shaking stops. The most important tip, however, is to keep calm and not to panic.

With the recent earthquakes, the announcement by Public Safety emphasized how important it is “that members of the NYUAD community were informed of best practices during an earthquake.”