Injuries Reported As ۵.۶ Earthquake Shakes Southwestern Iran

Injuries Reported As 5.6 Earthquake Shakes Southwestern Iran

02/18/21

Report by RFE/RL; photos by ISNA

An earthquake with a magnitude of 5.6 shook southwest Iran near the town of Sisakht late on February 17, with at least 40 people injured, Iranian media reported. Iranian state TV quoted an official in the region as saying, "People in Sisakht and the town of Yasuj left their homes in panic. Water and electricity have been cut off in Sisakht."

"Rescue teams and ambulances have been dispatched to the area. So far, 10 people have been injured," the official added.

Sisakht, a farming area with a population of around 6,000 people, is about 500 kilometers south of the capital, Tehran.

 

State news agency IRNA said the temblor struck at a depth of 10 kilometers at around at 10 p.m.

IRNA added that there were no immediate reports of fatalities, but the Fars news agency reported that at least two of the injured were in critical condition.

Regional officials also reported heavy rain in the region and said many people were suffering in extreme cold weather.

Iran sits on top of major tectonic plates and experiences frequent seismic activity.

A 7.3-magnitude quake in the western province of Kermanshah killed 620 people in November 2017.

In 2003, a 6.6-magnitude quake destroyed the ancient mud-brick city of Bam in Iran's southeast, killing at least 31,000 people.

Iran's deadliest was a 7.4-magnitude quake in 1990 that killed 40,000 people, injured 300,000 others, and left half a million homeless in the country's north.

Based on reporting by RFE/RL's Radio Farda, Reuters, IRNA, and AP