Magnitude 6 Quake Hits Iran’s Southern Province, No Casualties Reported
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – An earthquake measuring 6 on the Richter scale struck Iran’s southern coastal province of Hormozgan early Thursday morning.
The temblor hit Kookherd town in Bastak County of Hormozgan at 2:45 AM local time.
The epicenter, with a depth of 10 km, was determined to be at 26.89 degrees north latitude and 54.65 degrees east longitude.
There were also two strong aftershocks hitting the area at 2:57 AM and 3:04 AM, measuring 4.1 and 4 on the Richter scale, respectively.
According to Mehrdad Hassanzadeh, the director general of the province’s Crisis Management Department, no casualties have been reported so far.
He said several teams have been dispatched to the quake-hit area to assess the damages.
The official noted that the Crisis Management Headquarters and emergency units in the province are on full alert.
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.
