Magnitude 5.1 earthquake rattles southeastern Iran

By Ahmet Dursun, Omer Asur Cuhadar, Betul Yilmaz

TEHRAN / ISTANBUL (AA) – A magnitude 5.1 earthquake on the Richter scale struck southeastern Iran on Thursday, local authorities said.

The Seismological Center of the University of Tehran said the quake hit the southern province of Kirman at 01:00 local time (2130 GMT) at a depth of 8 kilometers.

No casualties or damage were reported.

Iran is located in a seismically active region and has experienced many devastating earthquakes in recent years.

The most catastrophic earthquake in the country's recent history occurred in 2013 when at least 34,000 people died in the city of Bam, located in the southeastern Kerman province. That earthquake had a magnitude of 6.7.

In July 2022, a magnitude 6.1 earthquake struck the southern province of Hormozgan, along the coast of the Persian Gulf, killing at least five people and injuring more than 80.