At least two killed in Iran earthquake
6.1 magnitude quake damages at least four villages housing some 5,000 people near Mashhad
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TEHRAN, Iran — A powerful magnitude 6.1 earthquake struck northeastern Iran near the holy city of Mashhad on Wednesday, killing at least two people as residents fled onto the streets and aftershocks shook the region.
The shallow temblor damaged at least four villages near its epicenter in the Sefid Sang district, a remote mountainous area home to 5,000 people, located about 80 kilometers (50 miles) southeast of Mashhad, state TV’s English-language Press TV channel reported. It said rescue teams and helicopters had deployed in Iran’s Khorasan Razavi province to the area to assess the damage.
Semi-official Iranian news agencies posted videos online of panicked people in the streets, items falling off store shelves and photos of damaged buildings.
Press TV said at least two people was killed. The semi-official Fars news agency said five people were injured and that mobile phone service and landline telephone lines had been affected.
Earthquake measuring 6.1 on Richter scale strikes near the city of #Mashhad in #Iran pic.twitter.com/rRcX0eYFjN
— All India Radio News (@airnewsalerts) April 5, 2017
State media described the depth of the quake as only 10 kilometers (6.2 miles). Either a shallow earthquake and or a magnitude 6 temblor on its own can cause serious damage.
The US Geological Survey also described the temblor as a 6.1, saying it had a depth of only 13 kilometers (8 miles).
Iran sits on a series of seismic fault lines and experiences one slight quake a day on average. In 2003, some 26,000 people were killed by a magnitude 6.6 quake that flattened the historic southeastern city of Bam.
The Times of Israel Community.