Two strong quakes jolt southern Iran

Two strong earthquakes measuring 6.3 and 6.4 struck the southern Iranian province of Hormozgan near the port city of Bandar Abbas on Sunday.

According to Iran’s Seismological Center affiliated with the Institute of Geophysics of Tehran University, the first earthquake occurred at 15:36 p.m. local time on Sunday at a depth of 18 kilometers.

The second one occurred at 15:37 p.m. local time at a depth of 10 kilometers.

The epicenter of the quakes was located at 56.03 degrees longitude and 27.71 degrees latitude.

Deputy Governor of Hormozgan Reza Modarres told Fars news agency that at least two people were died in the quakes.

He added that rescue teams have been dispatched to the quake-affected areas.

Director General of Hormozgan Crisis Management Mehrdad Hassanzadeh also was quoted as saying that the quakes have temporarily disrupted telephone and Internet connections in the province.

"Three investigating teams have been dispatched to Laft and rescue teams are on full alert," he added.

Meanwhile, head of Iran's Emergency Medical Services Organization Jafar Miadfar said all hospitals in Hormozgan are ready to treat the injured people.

He added that four investigating teams have been sent to Qeshm Island while all adjacent provinces are on alert.

Iraj Roohi, seismic database manager at Iranian Seismological Center said the two quakes occurred near the "High Zagros" Fault, noting that there is no record of a tsunami in this area

He added that there is a very low possibility that a tsunami would occur in this area.

President Raeisi orders immediate investigation of quake-hit areas

Soon after the quakes, President Seyyed Ebrahim Raeisi ordered all relevant state bodies, officials and ministries to carry out relief operations and investigate the situation in the quake-hit areas as soon as possible.

He added that all neighboring provinces must be ready to help relief operations in Hormozgan if need be.

Raeisi also ordered First Vice President Mohammad Mokhber to travel to the quake-stricken regions at the earliest to monitor the existing problems up-close, so that local people would feel safe and secure, knowing that relief operations would be carried out on time and in an appropriate manner.

‘Bushier nuclear power plant not damaged by quakes’

In a related development, Bushehr province’s Natural Disasters Management Department announced later on Sunday that the powerful quakes in Hormozgan province had not harmed the nuclear power plant in the adjacent Bushehr province in any way.

“The quakes have not done any damage to Bushehr Nuclear Power Plant and all the plant’s installations, equipment and related buildings are completely unscathed,” Jahangir Dehqani, head of the department, was quoted by Fars news agency as saying.

He dismissed rumors that a tsunami was likely to occur in the nearby Persian Gulf, noting that no report of physical or human losses have been received from anywhere across Bushehr province.

SS