A moderate magnitude earthquake left one dead and felt overnight in Tehran Thursday to Friday, causing panic in the Iranian capital. The shock, which lasted several seconds, was felt by several AFP journalists.
The magnitude 4.6 earthquake occurred at 12:48 a.m. (8:18 p.m. GMT) near the city of Damavand, about 55 kilometers east of Tehran, said the American Institute for Geological Studies (USGS). The epicenter of the earthquake was located at a depth of 5.6 km, 25 km south of Mount Damavand, a volcanic mountain hosting the highest peak in Iran. Previously, the Euro-Mediterranean Seismological Center had reported on Twitter a magnitude of 4.8.
A precedent two months ago
Soon after the earthquake, many Tehran residents left their homes in accordance with the safety rules to be observed in such cases. Iran is in one of the most active seismic zones in the world. On February 23, an earthquake measuring 5.7 on the Iran-Turkey border killed nine people on the Turkish side and left several dozen injured on both sides of the border.
In November 2017, a 7.3 magnitude earthquake killed 620 people in the western province of Kermanshah. The deadliest earthquake in Iran in the last 30 years, with a magnitude of 7.4 in June 1990, left 40,000 people dead and left half a million people homeless in the north of the country.