Strong Quake Hits Southern Iran, No Casualties Reported
BANDAR ABBAS (Tasnim) – An earthquake measuring 5.6 on the Richter scale struck an area in Iran’s southern province of Hormozgan, but there are no immediate reports of damage or casualties.
According to Tasnim dispatches, the temblor hit an area near the city of Kookherd in Bastak County, Hormozgan Province, at 2:28 p.m. (local time) on Monday.
The epicenter of the quake with a depth of 10 km was located at 47 km from Kookherd and 54 km from Bandar Lengeh.
The managing director of the Hormozgan Province’s Crisis Management Department said no casualties have been reported in the quake-hit area.
He added that several teams have been dispatched to the area to assess the damages inflicted due to the earthquake.
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.
