The magnitude-7.6 earthquake which shook Southern Iran on Tuesday was felt by people in several Arab states on the other side of the Persian Gulf, including Saudi Arabia, Oman, Bahrain, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates.

The Saudi Information Spokesman of Geological Survey Authority Tariq Aba Al-Khail announced that the population of the Eastern Region and Riyadh in Saudi Arabia felt the quake that hit Iran-Pakistan border at 15:14 hours Iran's time (1044 GMT).

In the meantime, Iran's strong tremors were felt in cities across the UAE in Tuesday afternoon.

The shockwaves of the quake felt in the UAE forced residents of high-rise buildings to rush out to nearby open places, the Gulf News reported.

The shockwaves of the first quake took almost half an hour to reach Abu Dhabi, Dubai, and Sharjah some 500km across the Persian Gulf. No casualties and property damage were reported in the UAE thus far.

Dubai Airports took to Twitter to allay concerns that flights had been delayed.

Tremors were felt in Oman after the second major earthquake in the region in eight days.

Meanwhile, in Bahrain, the Minister of Interior said the Chief of Public Security had activated the Disaster Management Center in response to the earthquake.

The quake was felt across Asia, with report of buildings shaking and people running onto the streets in New Delhi in India, Karachi in Pakistan and Nimrooz and Badakhshan in Afghanistan. Buildings in Qatar also were evacuated.

News ID 184608