Strong Earthquake Shakes Southern Iran, Killing 10 People and Flattening Seven Villages
Sunday, November 27, 2005 12:50:21 PM

An earthquake measuring at least magnitude-5.9 shook a sparsely populated area of southern Iran on Sunday, flattening seven villages and killing 10 people, officials said. The temblor was felt as far away as Oman and the United Arab Emirates.

Heidar Alishvandi, the governor of Qeshm, was quoted by state-run television as saying rescue teams were deployed to the affected area and people in the wrecked villages moved quickly to safely.

Another provincial official, Ghasem Karami, told The Associated Press that high casualties were not expected because the area was not heavily developed.

Tehran's seismologic center said the quake measured magnitude-5.9, but the U.S. Geological Survey in Golden, Colo., said it was a magnitude-6.1 temblor. A magnitude-6.0 quake can cause severe damage. Story