Official: Bastak’s Infrastructure Severely Hit by Recent Quake
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – Governor-General of Iran’s Southern province of Hormozgan said the 5.5-magnitude earthquake has caused serious damage to Bastak’s infrastructure, adding that efforts are underway to assist people in quake-hit regions.
Speaking to reporters on Thursday, Jassem Jadari confirmed that the quake has left at least one person dead and 30 others injured.
He said the quake also caused serious damage to the town’s gas, water and energy networks, but at the same time noted that water networks have been repaired and efforts are underway to repair power networks.
Jadari said the tremor damaged houses between 10-60%, forcing residents to stay outdoors amid fears of more possible aftershocks.
He, however, noted that his forces have adopted necessary measures to protect people and prevent further loss of lives.
The Iranian Seismological Center said the quake hit the town of Bastak at 6:43 am local time (0313 GMT) on Thursday.
Another earthquake registering 4.5 on the Richter scale soon hit the area, followed by numerous aftershocks.
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.