Strong 6.5 quake strikes southern Iran, casualties unknown

December 21st, 2010 - 2:16 am ICT by BNO News  

TEHRAN (BNO NEWS) — A strong earthquake rocked southeastern Iran on late Monday evening, seismologists said, but it was not immediately known if there was damage or casualties.

The 6.5-magnitude earthquake at 10.12 p.m. local time (1842 GMT) was centered about 17 kilometers (10 miles) from the town of Hosein abad in Kerman Province, or 99 kilometers (62 miles) southeast of Bam. It struck about 2 kilometers (1.2 miles) deep, making it an extremely shallow earthquake, according to the Iranian Seismological Center.

The United States Geological Survey measured the strength of the earthquake at 6.3 on the Richter scale. It said as many as 49,000 people may have felt strong to violent shaking.

It was not immediately known if there was damage or casualties.

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