Magnitude 5.6 Quake Hits Southern Iran; No Casualties Reported

An earthquake measuring 5.6 on the Richter scale has jolted an area in Iran’s southern province of Hormozgan on Monday noon, but there are no immediate reports of damage or casualties.

According to the Seismological Centre of the Institute of Geophysics of Tehran University, the temblor hit an area near the city of Kookherd in Bastak County, Hormozgan, at 14:28 pm. (local time) on Monday.

The epicentre, with a depth of 10 km, was determined to be at 27.05 degrees of north latitude and 54.97 degrees of east longitude.

Two aftershocks, one 3.5 and the other 4-magnitude on the Richter scale, also struck the adjacent city of Ruydar.

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.

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