An earthquake occurred in Iran Tuesday and was felt as far away as Dubai and India.
It registered a 7.8 and arrived just one week after a 6.1 earthquake hit Iran's gulf coast. It's been described as the strongest earthquake to hit Iran in half a century.
Tuesday's earthquake has killed 40 people, according to Iran's state-run Press TV, which gave no further details on the extent of the damage, other than to call it a "massive quake." An Iranian official told Reuters hundreds are feared to be dead in Khash, a city with a population of 60,000 located near the earthquake's epicenter.
"The quake period was long" and occurred "when many people were at home to take a midday nap" a resident in the quake zone told the Associated Press.
Iran's Red Crescent, a disaster relief and humanitarian aid group equivalent to the International Red Cross described it as a "complicated emergency situation."
At least six people were killed on the Pakistan side of the border and at least 47 more people were injured, according to the state-run Pakistan television.
Approximately 1,000 mud homes were also damaged in the earthquake, which had an epicenter that was approximately 26 miles north of Saravan City, which is near the Iran-Pakistan border.
The quake was felt over an expanse that reached from New Delhi to Gulf cities, such as Dubai, that have some of the world's tallest skyscrapers. No casualties have been reported in Dubai, where buildings were reported to sway, or in India, where aftershocks were also felt.
Last week's earthquake killed 37 people and injured 850 more when it struck near Bushehr, which is located on Iran's Persian Gulf coast. That quake caused calls for greater international safety inspectors since Iran's only nuclear reactor is located nearby.
This article is copyrighted by Travelers Today, the travel news leader
