Earthquake in Fars 21 July 2010

Описание: A magnitude 5.8 earthquake has struck Iran's southern provinces of Fars and Hormozgan, injuring 32 people and damaging some residential units. A total of 32 people including residents of some villages in southern town of Lamerd in Fars Province were injured in the quake, IRIB quoted head of Lamerd Red Crescent, Heydaripour as saying on Wednesday. The earthquake damaged 50 to 70 percent of residential buildings, he further explained. The quake, centered 146 miles (234 km) west of Bandar-e Abbas and close to the Persian Gulf coast, was 21.1 miles (34 km) deep, the US Geological Survey reported.. It struck at 11:08 p.m. local time (1938 GMT). There have been no reports of possible causalities yet. This is while the Iranian Seismological Center (IRSC) reported later that the Ahl region on the border between the Fars province and Hormozgan province in southern Iran was shaken twice by a 5.8 magnitude earthquake and another 5.2 magnitude quake. The first quake shook the region on 00:08 a.m. local time (19:38 GMT) and the second one took place 12 minutes later, the center said. Some reports say the quakes were also felt on the island of Kish in the Persian Gulf. Officials say emergency aid teams are ready, and will be dispatched to the quake-hit area if necessary. Earthquakes are common in Iran. In 2003, some 30,000 people were killed in a quake that devastated the southeastern city of Bam.