Strong earthquake rocks southeastern Iran, casualties unknown

[News_Editor]

Strong earthquake rocks southeastern Iran, casualties unknown

2010-12-21 02:41:58 GMT+7 (ICT)

TEHRAN (BNO NEWS) -- A strong earthquake rocked southeastern Iran on late Monday evening, seismologists said, but it was not immediately known if there was damage or casualties.

The 6.5-magnitude earthquake at 10.12 p.m. local time (1842 GMT) was centered about 16 kilometers (9.9 miles) from the town of Hosein abad in Kerman Province, or 99 kilometers (62 miles) southeast of Bam. It struck about 5 kilometers (3.1 miles) deep, making it an extremely shallow earthquake, according to the Iranian Seismological Center.

The United States Geological Survey (USGS) measured the strength of the earthquake at 6.3 on the Richter scale with a depth of 12.4 kilometers (7.7 miles). The agency estimated as many as 49,000 people may have felt strong to violent shaking.

It was not immediately known if there was damage or casualties from the strong earthquake, and state-run media did not immediately report the quake.

Earthquakes, even light and moderate ones, often cause heavy damage and severe casualties in certain parts of the country due to poor construction, especially when they hit during the night when most residents are sleeping.

In 2003, on December 26, around 31,000 people were killed and more than 30,000 others were injured when a strong 6.6-magnitude earthquake struck near Bam - not far from Monday's epicenter. It left the area devastated with 85 percent of buildings damaged or destroyed in Bam.

More recent earthquakes include a light 4.9-magnitude quake on November 6 that rattled western Iran, approximately 17 kilometers (10 miles) from Dorood in Luristan Province. It struck about 5 kilometers (3 miles) deep, leaving 119 people injured.

And on August 27, two young children were killed and more than a dozen others were injured when a moderate 5.9-magnitude earthquake struck 76 kilometers (47 miles) from Damghan, a city in the country's Semnan Province.

Before that, in November 2009, a light 4.9-magnitude earthquake struck the southern Iranian port city of Bandar Abbas, injuring more than 700 people.

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