Two Strong Quakes Jolt Iran's Southern Province
TEHRAN (Tasnim) - Two earthquakes measuring 4.6 on the Richter scale hit the town of Shonbe in Iran's southern province of Bushehr on Saturday evening.
According to a report by the Iranian Seismological Center, the first earthquake hit the area at 21:35 local time (1705 GMT).
The epicenter, with a depth of 10 km, was initially determined to be at 28.44 degrees north latitude and 51.68 degrees east longitude.
Iran is one of the most seismically active countries in the world, being crossed by several major fault lines that cover at least 90% of the country. As a result, earthquakes in Iran occur often and are destructive.
The deadliest quake in Iran's modern history happened in June 1990. It destroyed the northern cities of Rudbar, Manjil and Lushan, along with hundreds of villages, killing an estimated 37,000 people.
Bam in the country’s southeastern province of Kerman witnessed a strong quake in December 2003 which killed 31,000 people.
