Major 7.8-magnitude earthquake hits Iran, dozens hurt and killed in Iran and Pakistan
At approximately 10:44 UTC today, a major 7.8 magnitude earthquake struck near the Iran Pakistan border about 83 km from the Iranian city of Khash, according to a US Geologic Survey report today.
The massive tremor has been responsible for dozens of injuries and deaths, many in neighboring Pakistan.
According to a Washington Post report, a Pakistani military official said 34 were killed and at least 80 people were injured in the earthquake. All the casualties happened in the Pakistani town of Mashkal.
Earlier reports out of Iran were more than forty fatalities; however, Iran state-run media later retarcted the report.
Iran’s semiofficial Fars news agency quoted one politician as saying, “Fortunately, the quake did not cause any deaths or serious property damage. Telephone lines are now working and water and electricity (are) normal.”
According to the Richter magnitude scale, an earthquake that registers at 7.0-7.9 is considered major and relatively rare with approximately 15 reported annually worldwide . It can cause serious damage over very large areas.
One week ago, a 6.3 tremor hit approximately 60 miles of southeast of the Bushehr nuclear power plant, causing safety concerns at the time.
The current, massive quake could be felt as far away as Dubai and New Delhi, India.