Southern Iran struck by series of 3 powerful quakes leaving at least 5 dead
Shakemap of this morning's mag 6.1 quake in southern Iran (image: USGS)

The strong magnitude that shook the province of Hormozgan in southern Iran this morning at 2.02 a.m. local time claimed at least five fatalities, according to local and international media. Dozens of people have been injured.

The quake was unusual in that it was the first of a series of strong quakes including a magnitude 5.7 and magnitude 6.0 quake that followed two hours later. “All of the victims died in the first earthquake and no one was harmed in the next two severe quakes as people were already outside their homes,” local official Foad Moradzadeh was quoted as saying by the state news agency IRNA, Aljazeera wrote. The article also mentioned that the local emergency aid services had conclude search and rescue operations and did not expect to find other casualties.

According to local reports, most people rushed into the streets where they spent the rest of the night in tents or in the open air.

At least 30 aftershocks were felt in villages and towns near Bandar Abbas. Light, but noticeable shaking was felt in several hundred kilometers distance, including the Arab Emirates. Reports from Dubai came to our alert system within minutes after the quake had hit.



Videos and photos on social media show that many homes, typically built in bricks with poor standards, collapsed or were damaged. Dozens of villages in the area near the epicenter lost power temporarily. A serious problem is also posed by the currently very high summer temperatures in the area that reach up to 45 degrees Celsius.



According to preliminary seismic data, the quakes were caused by compressional stress in the crust of the Zagros mountain chain accumulated by the ongoing collision between the Arabian and Eurasia. The Arabia plate is converging towards the north-northeast at a rate of approximately 33 mm per year with respect to the Eurasia plate. About half of this movement is accommodated by compression and faulting in the Zagros mountain chain, which explains why this area is so frequently hit by earthquakes.

According to state TV, at least 150 quakes and tremors had hit western Hormozgan over the past month alone. On Nov 14, 2021, a similar series of strong quakes with magnitudes of 6.3 and 6.0 hit near the island of Qeshm, close to Bandar Abbas, leaving one person dead.

On April, 18, 2021, a magnitude 6.0 earthquake struck near a major nuclear power plant in Bushehr town, but fortunately did not cause much damage.

The most devastating earthquake of the region in recent times was the Bam earthquake on Dec 26, 2003, that completely destroyed the ancient city of Bam in southeastern Iran’s Kerman province and killed more than 31,000 people.

Earthquake data:
Date & time: Jul 2, 2022 1:32 am (GMT +4) local time (1 Jul 2022 21:32 GMT)
Magnitude: 6.0
Depth: 16.0 km
Epicenterlatitude / longitude: 26.94°N / 55.25°E (Hormozgan, Iran)
Primary data source: USGS
https://www.volcanodiscovery.com/earthquake/news/185170/Southern-Iran-struck-by-series-of-3-powerful-quakes-leaving-at-least-5-dead.html