A magnitude 5.6 earthquake struck in southern Iran on Oct. 21, the semi-official Fars news agency reported.
The Euro-Mediterranean Seismological Centre (EMSC) said on Twitter that the earthquake’s focus was about 112 kilometers (about 69.5 miles) west of Bandar Abbas near the town of Kukherd in the southern province of Hormozgan, according to Fars.
M5.7 #earthquake (#زلزله) strikes 112 km W of Bandar ‘Abbās (#Iran) 29 min ago. Updated map of its effects: pic.twitter.com/8Iwfavwpog
— EMSC (@LastQuake) October 21, 2019
“These quakes are usually very light,” the manager at the National Centre of Meteorology, Khamis Al Shamsi told The National.
“They happen a lot but most of them are light earthquakes. Strong quakes happen once a year or even more infrequently.”
There were no early reports of fatalities or material damage, state TV reported, citing officials.
Massive Earthquake Strikes Off Vanuatu: USGS
An earthquake of magnitude 6.4 struck off the Pacific island nation of Vanuatu at 1:52 p.m. local time on Oct. 21, the United States Geological Survey said.
There were no immediate reports of casualties or damage from the quake, which the agency said hit at a depth of 226 kilometers (140 miles) about 58 kilometers (36 miles) north of the town of Isangel.
No tsunami warning has been issued after the earthquake.
A 4.5 magnitude quake rocked the region less than 12 hours earlier at 3:30 p.m. on Oct. 20.
Reuters contributed to this report.
