Dubai residents feel earthquake-like tremors from nearby demolition

Contractors have been pulling down half a dozen buildings in the area since November

Demolition work at The Pearl construction site in Dubai. Photo: Screengrab

Residents in some areas of Dubai reported feeling earthquake-like tremors on Friday night.

Videos taken nearby showed the source of activity that occurred shortly before 11pm was the demolition of an unfinished property project.

People living in areas such as JVC, The Greens, Dubai Marina and Barsha Heights said on social media they had felt what seemed like seismic activity.

One user uploaded a video to Reddit saying it was late-night demolition activity from The Pearl's building site.

Unfinished buildings in the long-abandoned project are being cleared.

Contractors using diggers and a wrecking ball have been pulling down half a dozen buildings in the area since November.

The Pearl is located on valuable land adjacent to The Palm Jumeirah — where there has been a dramatic increase in property prices since the end of the pandemic.

Work on the project stalled around 2011, as several investors in a complex consortium pulled out. At least 1,500 flats and seven hotels were planned at one stage.

Two Canadian architects made headlines around the world last year when they proposed building an enormous resort that resembled the Moon on the Pearl site.

In September, Michael Henderson, one of the designers, told The National there were no firm plans yet for the project, which would cost an estimated $5 billion to build.

“Within the Mena region we could see Moon being developed in either the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Bahrain or Kuwait,” he said at the time.