Mild Quake Strikes Northern Iran

TEHRAN, (ST)- An earthquake measuring 2.6 on the Richter scale jolted the town of Hashtjin in Ardebil province, Northern Iran, on Thursday.        

The Seismological center of Ardebil province affiliated to the Geophysics Institute of Tehran University registered the quake at 05:56 local time.

The epicenter of the quake was located in an area 48.3 degrees in longitude and 37.4 degrees in latitude.

Iran is criss-crossed with fault lines, it is regularly hit by earthquakes, experiencing at least one slight tremor every day.

The worst in recent times was the earthquake which  hit Bam in southeastern Kerman province in December 2003, killing 31,000 people and destroying the city’s ancient mud-built citadel.

The deadly quake in the country was in June 1990. It measured 7.7 on the Richter scale. About 37,000 people were killed and more than 100,000 injured in the northwestern provinces of Gilan and Zanjan. It devastated 27 towns and about 1,870 villages.

H.SH