Earthquake hits near Iran’s Bushehr nuclear plant
No injuries or damage reported after magnitude 4.4 tremor; plant designed to withstand earthquakes up to magnitude 8
TEHRAN — A magnitude-4.4 earthquake jolted a sparsely populated district some 110 kilometers (70 miles) northwest of Bushehr, Iran, Monday morning, rattling a region home to the Islamic Republic’s only operational nuclear power plant.
There were no immediate reports of damage or injuries.
The epicenter of the quake was Bandar-e Ganaveh in the country’s southwestern coast, according to the USGS.
Iran’s official IRNA news agency said temblor struck around 4:30 a.m. Monday local time.
The Bushehr nuclear power plant, which went online in 2011 with Russian help, is built to withstand earthquakes of magnitude 8.
In 2013, a magnitude-6.1 temblor killed at least 37 people in an area of the same province where Monday’s quake struck.
Iran experiences frequent earthquakes. In 2003, a magnitude-6.6 earthquake killed some 26,000 and flattened the historic southeastern city of Bam.
Times of Israel staff contributed to this report
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