Iran says 5.6 magnitude earthquake strikes its south

TEHRAN, Iran – A magnitude 5.6 earthquake shook southern Iran Monday, though there were no immediate reports of damage or injuries.

Officials said the earthquake struck near Kukherd, a city in Iran’s Hormozgan province. Kukherd is a farming community some 1,000 kilometres (620 miles) south of Iran’s capital, Tehran, with a population of some 4,000 people.

State TV described the depth of the temblor at 10 kilometres (6 miles). It offered no other immediate information. The country’s emergency department said there were no was known damage or injuries, though local authorities in southern province of Hormozgan said rescue team were still investigating.

Earthquakes with a magnitude of more than five can damage old buildings.

Some in tall towers in the Emirati city of Dubai, lying across the Persian Gulf from Iran, said they felt the earthquake.

An earthquake of similar strength shook southwestern Iran in July, injuring more than 100 people and damaging buildings.

Iran is located on major seismic faults and experiences one earthquake per day on average. In 2003, a magnitude 6.6 earthquake flattened the historic city of Bam, killing 26,000 people.