Strong Quakes Jolt Southern Iran
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – Two earthquake measuring 6.4 and 6.3 on the Richter scale jolted an area in Iran’s southern province of Hormozgan on Sunday, but there is no report of casualties or damages so far, a provincial official said.
The temblor hit an area in Laft region on the southern island of Qeshm at 15:36 local time on Sunday.
The epicenter of the first quake was in a depth of 18 km, while a second earthquake measuring 6.3 on the Richter scale happened a minute later with its epicenter in a depth of 10 km.
The head of the province’s Crisis Management Department said several teams have been dispatched to the quake-hit area to assess the damages and casualties.
The quake was also felt in the neighboring province of Kerman.
Initial reports said one person was killed and eight more people were injured.
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.
On November 12, 2017, the western province of Kermanshah was hit by a major 7.3-magnitude quake that killed 620 people.
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.
