TEHRAN -- Two strong earthquakes, the largest a 6.4-magnitude tremor, struck near Bandar Abbas in southern Iran Sunday, destroying a number of homes near the epicenter, local officials and residents said. Shaking was felt as far away as Dubai, Qatar, Bahrain, and Saudi Arabia.
The first earthquake, which struck at 3:37 p.m. local time on Sunday (1207 GMT), was centered about 64 kilometers northwest of Bandar Abbas, the capital of Hormozgan Province, or 278 kilometers north of Dubai. A second earthquake hit the same area about a minute later.
Iran’s Seismological Center said the first earthquake had a preliminary magnitude of 6.4, while the second one was slightly weaker, at 6.3. Both struck about 15 kilometers below the surface, making them very shallow earthquakes.
The extent of the damage near the epicenter was not immediately clear, but the ISNA news agency said “a number” of homes were destroyed in the Bandar Abbas area and landslides were reported at Geno Mountain. At least one person was killed when a light pole fell in Kerman.
“The situation in Hormozgan Province was declared red and assessment teams were sent to the region to estimate the possible damage,” the Iranian Red Crescent said in a statement. It said nearly 6,200 people live in a 15-kilometer radius from the epicenter.
President Ebrahim Raisi ordered an immediate gathering of his cabinet to discuss measures to ensure the safety of affected areas. He also ordered his first vice president, Muhammad Mohkber, to travel to Hormozgan to personally assess the situation.
Shaking was felt across the region, including in Dubai and Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates, as well as Qatar, Bahrain, and parts of Oman and Saudi Arabia. There were no reports of serious damage in the UAE or other neighboring countries.
Iran sits astride several major fault lines and is regularly hit by moderate and strong tremors.
Some 31,000 people were killed in December 2003 when a 6.6-magnitude earthquake struck near the city of Bam in southeast Iran, causing widespread devastation. The country’s worst-ever earthquake happened in the year 856, killing an estimated 200,000 people.