Iranian media are reporting a 5.1-magnitude earthquake in the southern Kerman province. The semi-official IRNA news agency says the temblor rocked the village of Hojedk, about 700 kilometers south of Tehran on Wednesday. Hojdak is located 140 kilometers north of the provincial capital city of Kerman.
According to the seismological center affiliated to Tehran University’s Geophysics Institute, the tremor was also felt in the city of Kerman. The epicenter of the quake was recorded at 57.26 degrees longitude and 30.77 degrees latitude in the depth of 9km. No casualties or damage to property have yet been reported.
Spokesman of provincial Crisis Management Headquarters Seyyed Mostafa Ayatollahi-Mousavi made the remarks talking to IRNA. He further noted that those affected by earlier earthquakes have been provided with necessary items, including temporary houses and they face no problem for the time being.
The province has been hit by several medium-intensity earthquakes in recent days. Iranian news agencies are reporting one person has died and at least 56 slightly injured after two earthquakes hit separate areas of the country. The state-run IRNA news agency on December 27 attributed the death to a heart attack after a 4.2-magnitude quake shook the city of Alborz, about 50 kilometers west of the capital, Tehran.
Iran is prone to near-daily earthquakes, as it sits on major fault lines. A temblor of magnitude 5.2 rocked Kerman Province on December 21, injuring at least 23 people. A day earlier, two people were killed by a similar-magnitude quake near Tehran. Kerman Province was also hit on December 12, when it was jolted by a 6.2-magnitude quake, injuring at least 18 people and damaging about 20 houses.
In November, a 7.2-magnitude quake hit western Iran, killing more than 600 people. In 2003, a 6.6-magnitude quake flattened the historic city of Bam, killing 26,000 people.