...

Earthquake hits eastern Iran

Society Materials 6 May 2015 09:53 (UTC +04:00)

Baku, Azerbaijan, May 6

By Umid Niayesh - Trend:

An earthquake measuring 5.2 on the Richter scale jolted the city of Kashmar in Iran's eastern province of Khorasan Razavi on May 6.

The tremor occurred at 01:58 local time (GMT +4:30 hours), according to a report from the seismography center affiliated with Tehran University Geophysics Institute.

The earthquake's epicenter was at only 11 kilometers distance from the city at a depth of 10 kilometers underground, the country's state IRINN TV reported.

At least 20 people were injured slightly who were treated on the spot. Kashmar is a city with 81,000 inhabitants.

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

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 north-western provinces of Gilan and Zanjan. Nearly 27 towns and 1,870 villages were devastated.

Follow the author on Twitter: @UmidNiayesh

Latest

Latest