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Several people gathered in an open space near their home
Residents across the UAE today reported a second strong earthquake after a series of earthquakes ripped through southern Iran in the early hours of Saturday.
Such was the intensity of several residents congregating in an open space near their homes. Others reported being awakened from sleep by tremors or witnessing furniture shaking.
Many people – from Dubai and Sharjah to Abu Dhabi and Ras Al Khaimah – shared the same videos and photos on social media.
While some Twitter users reported feeling the tremors for a few seconds, others said they lasted “up to five minutes.” Several long-term residents noted that the tremors were “longer and stronger” than they had ever felt so far.
As many as five earthquakes, ranging in magnitude from 4.3 to 6.3, struck southern Iran on Saturday, according to the UAE’s National Centre for Meteorology (NCM). According to the authorities, two of the quakes, with a strength of 6.3, occurred at 1.32am and 3.24am respectively, which were felt by residents. However, the earthquake did not have any further impact on the UAE, it said.
A 6.1-magnitude earthquake struck southern Iran early on Saturday, killing at least five people, according to state media, and the region was followed by two powerful quakes as high as 6.3.
“Five people were killed in the earthquake … 12 have been hospitalized so far,” Mehdad Hassanzad, head of emergency management in the Hormozgan province on Iran’s Gulf coast, told state television. “Rescue Work has been done and we are now providing tents as emergency shelter.”
The 6.3-magnitude quake followed by a 6.1-magnitude quake came after the 6.1-magnitude quake leveled the village of Sayeh Khosh near Iran’s Gulf Coast, state news agency IRNA said. There were dozens of aftershocks.
“All victims were killed in the first earthquake and no one was hurt in the next two severe earthquakes because people have left their homes,” Bandar Lengeh Governor Foad Moradzadeh was quoted as saying by state news agency IRNA.
The USGS noted that several other countries were also “affected”, including Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, Oman, Pakistan, Qatar and Afghanistan.
Iran, crisscrossed by major geological fault lines, has suffered several devastating earthquakes in recent years. In 2003, a magnitude 6.6 earthquake in Kerman province killed 31,000 people and leveled the ancient city of Bam.
(input from Reuters)
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