Iran’s quake death toll rises to 530, more than 8,000 injuredIt was measured as magnitude 5.9 by the US Geological Survey and several smaller aftershocks were reported. Schools were closed in some areas of the province, ISNA news agency reported. Iran sits on several faultlines, and Tuesday’s quake comes less than a day after a 6.0-magnitude tremor struck the western province of Kermanshah along the border with Iraq. Iran’s worst quake in recent years struck near the city of Bam in 2003, which saw the ancient city decimated by a 6.6-magnitude tremor that killed at least 31,000 people. In 1990, a 7.4-magnitude quake in northern Iran killed 40,000 people, injured 300,000 and left half a million homeless, reducing dozens of towns and nearly 2,000 villages to rubble.

Source: The Express Tribune December 12, 2017 11:03 UTC