Two strong earthquakes shook southern Iran near the port of Bender Abbas today (Sunday), causing residents to flee their homes and kill at least one, state television reported.
The quakes measured 6.3 and 6.4 on the Richter scale and shook the province of Hormuzgan, according to the report. It was also reported that the quakes were felt across the Gulf in countries such as Dubai, Bahrain and the UAE. Local officials said that “one person died after a power pole fell on him”. State television showed residents of Bender Abbas fleeing their homes in panic. Iran’s state news agency IRNA said no structural damage was done to homes in the area.
It was further reported that President Ibrahim Raisi instructed his senior vice president, Muhammad Muhabar, to visit Hormozgan province as soon as possible and he urged all bodies responsible to deal with people suffering from injuries and damage.
Dust rising from the hills and lorries swaying during the 6.3 Earthquake in #Iran near Bandar Abbas in the last hour. pic.twitter.com/sgaNYeugjR
– Aurora Intel (@AuroraIntel) November 14, 2021
Iran is located on major geological fault lines in Asia and experiences low-intensity earthquakes on a daily basis. As a result, the country has also suffered from several devastating earthquakes in recent years – in 2003, a magnitude 6.6 earthquake shattered the historic city and killed 26,000 people. A magnitude 7 earthquake in western Iran in 2017 killed more than 600 people and injured more than 9,000.
The Seismological Center of Iran said earthquakes hit the island of Kashm in the Strait of Hormuz in the afternoon, about a thousand kilometers south of the capital Tehran. According to the center, the strongest quake occurred at a depth of 18 kilometers. The epicenter was reported 60 miles (60 km) southwest of the port of Bender Abbas in Hormozgan province.
Earthquakes were also felt in Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, Oman, Pakistan, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates and Afghanistan. “The quake was felt on the north and east sides of the UAE without any impact or damage,” according to the UAE National Meteorological Center.