People flee homes as quakes strike southern Iran, killing at least one - state TV
Quake was felt in several southern Iranian cities in Hormozgan province, state TV says
DUBAI: Two strong earthquakes struck southern Iran near the port of Bandar Abbas on Sunday, prompting residents to flee their homes and killing at least one person, state TV reported.
The quakes measured 6.3 and 6.4 magnitude, jolting the province of Hormozgan, state TV said, and the tremors were felt across the gulf in Dubai.
“One person died after an electricity pole fell on him,” Iranian state TV said, citing local officials.
Iran is crisscrossed by major geological fault lines and has suffered several devastating earthquakes in recent years.
The European Mediterranean Seismological Centre put the magnitude of one of the quakes at 6.5 at a relatively shallow depth of 10 km (6 miles).
“The quake was felt in several southern Iranian cities in Hormozgan province,” an official told state TV, adding that rescue teams had been sent to the area.
State TV showed residents in Bandar Abbas fleeing their homes in panic. Iran’s state news agency IRNA said there was no structural damage to homes in the area.
The quakes were also felt across the gulf in Dubai, according to some residents.
“It was felt in northern and eastern side of the United Arab Emirates without any effect,” the UAE’s National Centre of Meteorology said in a tweet.
Iran lies on major seismic faults and experiences one earthquake a day on average. In 2003, a magnitude 6.6 earthquake flattened the historic city of Bam, killing 26,000 people. A magnitude 7 earthquake that struck western Iran in 2017 killed more than 600 people and injured more than 9,000.
The quake was felt across the gulf in Dubai, according to some residents.
“It was felt in northern and eastern side of the United Arab Emirates without any effect,” the UAE’s National Centre of Meteorology said in a tweet.