2 powerful earthquakes shake southern Iran

TEHRAN, Iran – Two high-intensity earthquakes struck southern Iran on Sunday, killing at least one person and leaving over a dozen injured.

The two tremors, measuring 6.4 and 6.3 on Richter scale, came in quick succession, at the depth of 10 km, 59 km north of the port city of Bandar Abbas in Hormozgan province.

According to officials, the extent of damage in worst-hit areas is still being assessed, while conflicting reports are coming in about the casualty toll.

The one confirmed death was of a pedestrian in Bandar Abbas city who came under an electricity pole when it fell to the ground.

Pictures of him were immediately circulated on social media. Some videos also showed parts of the Geno Mountain in Bandar Abbas collapsing and plumes of smoke rising from it.

Eyewitnesses speaking to Anadolu Agency over phone said the back-to-back quakes shook Hormozgan province, with people pouring into the streets in panic.

Unconfirmed reports suggest that many residential properties have been damaged.

Electricity supply has been disrupted in many parts of Hormozgan while efforts are underway to repair the electricity poles and substations, Anadolu Agency learnt from official sources.

The tremors were also felt in neighboring provinces, including Kerman and Fars, as well as in the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia.

President Ebrahim Raeisi convened an emergency meeting following the earthquakes and instructed First Deputy President Mohammad Mokhber to tour the affected provinces and oversee relief operations.

In February, at least 43 people were injured and several properties destroyed when a magnitude 5.6 earthquake shook southwestern Kohgiluyeh and Boyer-Ahmad province.

Iran is located in a seismically active zone, crisscrossed by major geological fault lines. The country has seen many catastrophic earthquakes in the past.