China News Service, May 8 (Xinhua) According to Iranian media reports, in the early hours of local time on the 8th local time, an earthquake of magnitude 5.1 occurred near Damawand County in Tehran Province in northern Iran, and the capital Tehran City and nearby cities felt the quake. There are currently no reports of casualties and property losses.
According to the Iranian Seismological Center, the epicenter of the earthquake was near Damavand, Iran, with a focal depth of 7 kilometers.
The earthquake lasted a few seconds, causing panicked residents to flee the building. So far, there have been no reports of casualties or damage.
The head of the country's emergency organization announced that the earthquake did not cause any harm to Tehran City, and all emergency service stations were on standby. After the earthquake, the Iranian Minister of the Interior issued an order to the Governor of Tehran and the head of the crisis management organization, urging them to immediately send a rescue team to the area.
The earthquake was the strongest in more than two years since the 5.2-magnitude earthquake occurred in the city of Malad in the suburbs of the Iranian capital.
Iran is located where two major plates meet, so seismic activity is frequent. In November 2017, western Iran was hit by a strong 7.3 magnitude earthquake, which was the deadliest earthquake in the country in more than a decade, killing hundreds of people.