Moderate earthquake strikes eastern Iran, killing 8

December 6, 2012 – TEHRAN – Eight people were killed Wednesday and at least a dozen injured in a moderate earthquake that struck eastern Iran near the Afghan border, a provincial emergency official said. “Based on the latest reports from the scene, the quake killed five people and injured 12 others,” Mohammad Ali Akhoundi, head of South Khorasan province’s crisis management service, told Mehr news agency. The quake, which registered 5.5 on the moment magnitude scale, hit at 8:38 pm (1708 GMT). Its epicenter was 25 kilometers (15 miles) from Zohan, a small town in the province, according to Tehran University’s Seismological Centre. Five villages were also “destroyed or damaged” in the quake Akhoundi was also quoted as saying by the state broadcaster IRIB. Iranian media reports said search and rescue teams were dispatched to the area, which had lost communication. The US Geological Survey, which monitors earthquakes worldwide, confirmed the temblor saying it measured 5.6 and was at a depth of 5.4 kilometers. Zohan is about 810 kilometers (500 miles) southeast of Tehran. –The News, Reuters