Magnitude 5 earthquake strikes southern Iran

TEHRAN, Iran – A magnitude 5 earthquake has struck southern Iran.

The European-Mediterranean Seismological Center says the 5.5 magnitude quake struck at 11:10 a.m. on Wednesday in Iran, some 125 kilometres — or about 77 miles — west of the port city of Bandar Abbas. It said the temblor struck at a depth of 10 kilometres, or 6.2 miles.

The U.S. Geological Survery put the quake’s magnitude at 5.3. Iranian state TV described the quake as a magnitude 5.4 but offered no reports of injuries or damage.

A magnitude 5 earthquake can cause considerable damage.

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.