Strong earthquake hits southeastern Iran, no casualties reported

The magnitude 6.0 earthquake struck Iran on Friday, December 1, injuring 42 people and destroying several homes.

According to the U.S. Geological Survey, the quake was centered 36 miles (58 km) northeast of Kerman city, which has a population of more than 821,000. It was very shallow, with an epicenter depth of 6.2 miles (10 km).

At least 42 people have been injured and several houses were destroyed, in an area where most people live in villages of mud-walled homes. No deaths have been reported so far. "The quake destroyed some houses in 14 villages but so far there has been no fatalities," a local official told state TV.

According to Iran's semi-official Tasnim news agency, the quake had caused heavy damage in Hojedk town, the earthquake's epicenter, with a population of 3,000 people. Some villages were hit by power and water cuts, while TV said that coal mines in the area had been closed because of aftershocks.

Criss-crossed by several major fault lines, Iran is one of the most earthquake-prone countries in the world. In 2003, a magnitude 6.6 quake in the Kerman province killed 31,000 people and flattened the ancient city of Bam. Less than three weeks ago, a magnitude 7.3 earthquake hit Iran's western Kermansheh province along the mountainous border with Iraq, killing 530 people and injuring thousands of others.