TEHRAN, Iran – A magnitude 5.9 earthquake shook southwestern Iran on Sunday along the Persian Gulf, followed by at least three aftershocks of moderate strength, state TV reported.
At least five people were injured, reports the state-run IRNA news agency IRNA.
State TV shared cell phone photos of collapsed walls and cracked houses in the area of the port city of Bandar Genaveh, the epicenter of the temple.
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The video, shot by a bystander at a construction site near Bandar Genaveh, apparently showed landslides in the nearby foothills. Both state TV and the semi-official news agency Tasnim rebroadcast the footage.
Images show houses damaged in a village near Bandar Genaveh in the south #Iran following 5.9 gratitude earthquake. Rescue team was sent to the area. No report yet on casualties or extent of damage. Shockings have been reported in Bandar Genaveh. pic.twitter.com/dZtKOINOYm
– Habib Abdolhossein (@HAbdolhossein) 18 April 2021
Three aftershocks of a magnitude 4 follow the initial earthquake, the report said.
The U.S. Geological Survey called the initial rate an earthquake with a magnitude of 5.8. It said its depth was 10 kilometers (6.2 miles).
A magnitude 5 earthquake can cause significant damage. Such shallow earthquakes as Sunday can also cause wider damage.
The quake was about 100 kilometers from Iran’s Bushehr nuclear power plant. There was no immediate report of the plant, although the facility was built to withstand earthquakes up to strength 8.
Iran has major seismic errors and experiences an average of one earthquake per day. In 2003, a magnitude 6.6 earthquake shook the historic city of Bam, killing 26,000 people.
In a magnitude 7 earthquake that struck western Iran in 2017, more than 600 people were killed and more than 9,000 injured.
