4.9 on the Richter scale hit Iran’s western province of Lorestan Monday, with rockslides along a busy road leaving several people lightly hurt, officials said. AFP
State television and local officials said a road linking the provincial capital of Khoramabad with the epicentre of the quakes, Poldokhtar, was blocked for several hours after the quakes struck.
The reports said a few travellers along the road suffered light injuries while a number of vehicles were also damaged. Schools in the nearby town of Mamulan were also closed.
The deputy head of the local disaster unit, Reza Mowji, said there were limited reports of damage to mud brick homes in villages around Poldokhtar, but he did not believe the area had sustained major damage.
“There have been very few damage reports, and not so many that we would need help from outside the province. The situation in the town is normal and we have no problem with water, gas and electricity,” he told AFP by telephone.
In addition, state media reported a string of quakes measuring up to 4.7 on the Richter scale have jolted an area around the town of Shoushtar, situated in southeastern province of Khuzestan, since Friday evening.
The official news agency IRNA said many local residents have moved outdoors for fear of a major quake, and state television said schools in Shoushtar have also been closed.
Iran is criss-crossed by seismological faults, and tremors and quakes are an almost daily occurrence.
The last major quake came in December 2003, when a tremor of up to 6.7 hit the southeastern city of Bam, levelling the historic city and killing at least 30,000.
