Of the three strong tremors that occurred, two were magnitude 6 on the Richter scale and the third was 5.7.
Five people were killed and approx 100 were injured today at Iranfrom consecutive earthquakes that hit a village in the south of the country, in the province of Hormozgan, near the Straits of Hormuz.
Of the three vibrations – two were magnitude 6 and the third 5.7– half the village of Sayyeh Khos was demolished. “Five people were killed and 93 were injured. Seven of the injured remain in hospital”a spokesman for the national disaster management agency, Mojataba Halendi, said on public television.
The first earthquake struck around 2 a.m. local time and came from a focal depth of 16 kilometers, according to the USGS. Two more tremors followed two hours later. The epicenter was located near Sayyeh Khos, which is 100 kilometers southwest of Bandar Abbas, a city of 500,000 people.
The Iranian branch of the Red Crescent reported that the search and rescue operation is almost complete. The district’s governor, Mehdi Dousti, said authorities were now focusing on finding housing for residents who were left homeless. This village, like 30 others in the wider area, have also been left without electricity, while historical buildings have also been destroyed, such as 50 ancient mills on the island of Kesm.
In Bandar Abbas, where the quakes were felt, residents spent the night on the street and long lines formed outside gas stations.
In 2003, a 6.6-magnitude earthquake destroyed the city of Bam in southeastern Iran, killing at least 31,000 people. In 1990 an estimated 40,000 people died in a 7.4 magnitude earthquake in northern Iran.
RES-EMP
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