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Consecutive quakes jolt Southern Iran

Iran Materials 1 August 2010 14:25 (UTC +04:00)
Two consecutive tremors measuring 3.4 and 3.4 on the Richter scale hit the city of Bandar Maqam in Iran's Southern Hormozgan province on Sunday
Consecutive quakes jolt Southern Iran

Two consecutive tremors measuring 3.4 and 3.4 on the Richter scale hit the city of Bandar Maqam in Iran's Southern Hormozgan province on Sunday, Fars News Agency reported.

The Seismological center of Hormozgan province affiliated to the Geophysics Institute of Tehran University registered the quakes at 10:34 and 10:42 hours local time (0604 and 0612 GMT), respectively.

The tremors were epicentered in an area 53.3 and 53.4 degrees in longitude and 26.9 and 26.8 degrees in latitude, respectively.

There are yet no reports on the number of possible casualties or damage to properties by the quakes.

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.

Tehran alone sits on two major fault lines, and the capital's 14 million residents fear a major quake.

The last deadly quake in Iran happened on Sept. 10 when a magnitude-6.1 earthquake killed at least 7 people and injured almost 47 more in the southern Iranian province of Hormozgan, although there have been a number of moderate quakes which have left many injured. 

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