Earthquake near Iran's nuclear power station

[Mr Lick]

Earthquake near Iran's Bushehr nuclear power station



A 6.3 magnitude earthquake has struck in south-west Iran, not far from the country's first nuclear power station, the US Geological Survey reports.

The quake's epicentre is 89km (55 miles) from Bushehr, the USGS said.

People on social media reported feeling the quake across the Gulf in Dubai and Abu Dhabi. There is no word yet on the extent of any damage.

Iran's nuclear programme is the subject of international concern amid fears it is trying to build nuclear weapons.

Tehran has always insisted its work at Bushehr and other sites is for civilian purposes only.

[Butterfly]

the Americans probably did it,

[Radius]

Maybe that was an underground test by the Iranians.

[MongersSyndicate]

Some USraeli new weapon is being tested...

[Mr Lick]

Deadly quake in south-west Iran's Bushehr province




A 6.3 magnitude earthquake has killed at least 30 people and injured 800 in south-west Iran, officials say.

Rescue teams have been sent to the affected area, but darkness is hampering rescue operations.

The quake struck 90km (60 miles) south of the country's only nuclear power station in Bushehr, the US Geological Survey (USGS) says.

However, the nuclear plant has not been affected and is working normally, officials have said.

The quake was felt across the Gulf in Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Bahrain.

Some 10,000 people are thought to live in the affected area in more than 50 villages, two of which have reportedly been completely levelled.

The governor's office has sent generators to the area so rescue operation can continue overnight, the BBC's Mohsen Asgari in Tehran reports.

Seismologists said the quake struck at 16:22 (11:52 GMT) at a depth of 10km (6.2 miles) near the town of Kaki, south of Bushehr - a Gulf port city that is home to Iran's first and only nuclear power plant.

Iran's seismological centre in Bushehr province, linked to Tehran University, registered the quake at a magnitude of 6.1.

It was a very strange sensation, rather like being on a rocking boat” - Phil Stevens Office worker in Abu Dhabi

Tens of aftershocks - the strongest measuring a magnitude of 5.4 - struck within an hour, sending many people into the streets for safety.

One resident in Bushehr told Reuters news agency that they could "clearly feel the earthquake" but there was no damage.

State media reported that phone lines had been brought down by the quake and its aftershocks.

The earthquake shook buildings across the Gulf.

"Our entire building started to wobble from side to side for around 30 seconds or so," Phil Stevens, working on the 10th floor of a building in Abu Dhabi, told the BBC.

"It was a very strange sensation, rather like being on a rocking boat. We evacuated our office and quickly learned of the earthquake in Iran."


Fault line

The governor of Bushehr, Fereydoun Hassanvand, told Iranian state TV that the nuclear plant was not damaged.

An official with the Russian firm Atomstroyexport told Russian media that the quake "in no way affected the normal situation at the reactor".

"Personnel continue to work in the normal regime and radiation levels are fully within the norm," the official was quoted by Russian state news agency Ria as saying.

Iran's nuclear programme has roused concern among major powers that Tehran wants to build nuclear weapons - a charge Iran strongly denies.

Iran straddles a major geological fault line, making it prone to seismic activity. In 2003, an earthquake in the city of Bam left more than 25,000 people dead.

[Mr Lick]

Iran Bushehr earthquake

[kingwilly]

Good news about the reactor bad luck for the locals.