Quake jolts Northwestern Iran

An earthquake measuring 4 on the Richter scale struck the town of Varzaqan in East Azerbaijan province, Northwestern Iran, FNA reported.

The Seismological center of East Azerbaijan province affiliated to the Geophysics Institute of Tehran University registered the quake at 09:10 hours local time (0540 GMT).

The epicenter of the quake was located in an area 46.6 degrees in longitude and 38.4 degrees in latitude.

Iran sits astride several major faults in the earth's crust, and is prone to frequent earthquakes, many of which have been devastating.

The worst in recent times hit Bam in southeastern Kerman province in December 2003, killing 31,000 people - about a quarter of its population - and destroying the city's ancient mud-built citadel.

The deadliest quake in the country was in June 1990 and measured 7.7 on the Richter scale. About 37,000 people were killed and more than 100,000 injured in the northwestern provinces of Gilan and Zanjan. It devastated 27 towns and about 1,870 villages.

Last month, two quakes in Northwestern Iran also claimed the lives of 306 people and injured more than 4500 others.

An earthquake measuring 6.2 on the Richter scale jolted Ahar in East Azerbaijan province at 16:00 hours local time (1130GMT) on August 11. Almost an hour later another quake with magnitude 6 on the Richter scale jolted Varzaqan at 17:04 hours local time (1234GMT) in the same province.