Post by Kaffir Nation on Sept 10, 2008 9:42:02 GMT -7
news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080910/ap_on_re_mi_ea/iran_quake&printer=1
Quake in Iran kills 4, sends tremors across Gulf
By ALI AKBAR DAREINI, Assocaited Press Writer
A strong earthquake rocked southern Iran on Wednesday, killing four people and sending tremors across the Persian Gulf to the skyscrapers of Dubai.
The country's seismological center said the magnitude 6 quake struck at 3:30 p.m., with the epicenter about 850 miles south of the capital Tehran in the province of Hormozgan.
The region's main city, Bandar Abbas, is one of Iran's key ports and home to a large oil refinery that primarily serves the domestic market. People in the port city, reached by telephone, said panicked residents ran into parks when the tremors started.
"When the quake struck, it was like a snake bite," said Hani Shokouhi, a resident of Bandar Abbas. "Then, the chandeliers and drawers were moving from one side to the other in the house."
Shokouhi said many residents remained in the streets, too afraid to return to their homes.
The quake, which an official at the seismological center said was followed by 10 aftershocks, knocked out power and caused minor damage on the Gulf island of Qeshm. State television reported four people were killed and 26 injured.
The U.S. Geological Survey estimated the initial quake's strength at magnitude 6.1.
Abdolkarim Setareh, a local official in the epicenter town of Bandar-e-Khamir said extensive damage was unlikely.
"Houses in this region have been built in recent years and are resistant to earthquakes. Only minor damage has been reported from a dozen villages so far," he told The Associated Press by telephone.
Across the Persian Gulf in Dubai, the tremors sent office workers rushing out of high-rises in the city-state's commercial center.
All buildings in the Dubai International Financial Center were evacuated, the DIFC said. More than 700 companies are registered at the DIFC, located in the city's commercial district.
"My bed was hitting against the wall," said Rheanne Anderson, a Canadian teacher living in the nearby emirate of Ras al-Khaimah. "There was definitely some shaking."
Iran is located on seismic fault lines and averages at least one slight earthquake every day.
In February 2005, a magnitude 6.4 quake in southern Iran killed 612 people. A magnitude 6.6 quake flattened the historic city of Bam in the same region in December 2003, killing 26,000 people.
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Associated Press writers Barbara Surk and Adam Schreck in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, contributed to this report.
Quake in Iran kills 4, sends tremors across Gulf
By ALI AKBAR DAREINI, Assocaited Press Writer
A strong earthquake rocked southern Iran on Wednesday, killing four people and sending tremors across the Persian Gulf to the skyscrapers of Dubai.
The country's seismological center said the magnitude 6 quake struck at 3:30 p.m., with the epicenter about 850 miles south of the capital Tehran in the province of Hormozgan.
The region's main city, Bandar Abbas, is one of Iran's key ports and home to a large oil refinery that primarily serves the domestic market. People in the port city, reached by telephone, said panicked residents ran into parks when the tremors started.
"When the quake struck, it was like a snake bite," said Hani Shokouhi, a resident of Bandar Abbas. "Then, the chandeliers and drawers were moving from one side to the other in the house."
Shokouhi said many residents remained in the streets, too afraid to return to their homes.
The quake, which an official at the seismological center said was followed by 10 aftershocks, knocked out power and caused minor damage on the Gulf island of Qeshm. State television reported four people were killed and 26 injured.
The U.S. Geological Survey estimated the initial quake's strength at magnitude 6.1.
Abdolkarim Setareh, a local official in the epicenter town of Bandar-e-Khamir said extensive damage was unlikely.
"Houses in this region have been built in recent years and are resistant to earthquakes. Only minor damage has been reported from a dozen villages so far," he told The Associated Press by telephone.
Across the Persian Gulf in Dubai, the tremors sent office workers rushing out of high-rises in the city-state's commercial center.
All buildings in the Dubai International Financial Center were evacuated, the DIFC said. More than 700 companies are registered at the DIFC, located in the city's commercial district.
"My bed was hitting against the wall," said Rheanne Anderson, a Canadian teacher living in the nearby emirate of Ras al-Khaimah. "There was definitely some shaking."
Iran is located on seismic fault lines and averages at least one slight earthquake every day.
In February 2005, a magnitude 6.4 quake in southern Iran killed 612 people. A magnitude 6.6 quake flattened the historic city of Bam in the same region in December 2003, killing 26,000 people.
__
Associated Press writers Barbara Surk and Adam Schreck in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, contributed to this report.