Earthquake Rocks Northeastern Iran, Injures 100

By Ivana Kvesic, Christian Post Reporter Thursday, January 19, 2012

An earthquake rocked northeastern Iran Thursday, injuring 100 people and setting off a wave of aftershocks throughout the region.

The magnitude-5.5 earthquake hit at 4:05 p.m. local time and caused damage to Neyshabour, a city around 550 miles north of the Iranian capital of Tehran.

Homes and buildings in Neyshabour faced minor damages, such as shattered windows, while homes in nearby rural regions faced more significant damages, such as downed walls.

Dozens have been injured in the quake and the IRNA news agency said that some have been hospitalized.

"In the quake, 100 people were injured. Eighty-three were treated as out patients and the rest have been admitted to the hospital. We have no reports of any deaths," crisis manager Hojat Ali Shayanfar told IRNA.

The news agency also reported that the quake caused residents to run out in the streets and disrupted the afternoon functioning of several communities in the area for a short period of time. The earthquake was followed by 36 aftershocks.

Another quake hit the city of Mashhad on Thursday, but no reports of injures or damages came from that quake. Mashhad is the second largest city in Iran and is considered one of the holiest cities in the country.

Much of Iran is prone to facing earthquakes and it is one of the most seismically active countries in the world due to its location along several major fault lines.

On Dec. 26, 2003 the country experienced its most deadly earthquake in recent history when a massive jolt shook the southeastern city of Bam and caused the death of around 31,000 people, around a quarter of the city's population. Thousands more sustained injuries as a result of the powerful quake.