Magnitude 5.2 earthquake shakes northeastern Iran, damage reported

TEHRAN, Iran

An earthquake with a magnitude of 5.2 on the Richter scale struck northeastern Iran's North Khorasan province on Sunday afternoon, according to state media.

The epicenter of the earthquake was Bojnord, a city in central North Khorasan, approximately 700 kilometers from the capital, Tehran.

According to the Iranian Seismological Center, affiliated with the Institute of Geophysics at Tehran University, the quake occurred at 16:13 local time (14:43 GMT) at a depth of 8 kilometers.

It followed two strong tremors in the same city earlier on Sunday, with magnitudes of 4.7 and 4.1, which injured at least seven people.

Initial reports indicate that the earthquake caused damage to houses in several villages across the province and resulted in some injuries.

However, there were no immediate reports of fatalities.

The Red Crescent Society of North Khorasan province quickly dispatched assessment and relief teams to the affected areas in Bojnord, state media reported.

Iran is located in a seismically active region and has experienced many devastating earthquakes in recent years.

The most catastrophic earthquake in the country's recent history occurred in 2013 when at least 34,000 people died in the city of Bam, located in southeastern Kerman province. That earthquake had a magnitude of 6.7.

In July 2022, a magnitude 6.1 earthquake struck the southern province of Hormozgan, along the coast of the Persian Gulf, killing at least five people and injuring more than 80.